St. Gaspar del Bufalo, the apostle of the devotion to the Precious Blood, was born in Rome on January 6, 1786. As a devoted priest he he revived the works of the apostolate in Rome and later became a dedicated missionary. In his missionary travels of Italy he invited the faithful to reflect upon and to adore the Precious Blood of Christ. In the year 1815 he founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; and in 1834, with his encouragement, Blessed Maria the Mattias founded the Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ. He was Beatified by St. Pius X in 1904 and canonized by Pius XII on June 12, 1954. Manifesting his particular devotion to St. Gaspar del Bufalo, Pope John XXIII visited his body in the Church of Santa Maria in Trivio on January 4, 1963, where it remains enshrined for the veneration of the faithful.

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF
ST. GASPAR DEL BUFALO
(Excerpted from various volumes of "Strokes of the Pen")

- 1786

January 6 Gaspar del Bufalo is born in Rome.

- 1788

He is cured of a serious ailment in the eyes through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier.

- 1808

• July 31 He is ordained priest in the Church of the Missionaries of St. Vincent de Paul in Montecitorio, and is named Canon of the Basilica of St. Mark.
• October 23 With Frs. Bonanni, Santelli and Gonnelli, he founds the nocturnal Oratory of S. Maria in Vincis.
• December 8 He assists Fr. Albertini in the institution of the Confraternity of the Precious Blood in S. Nicola in Carcere and preaches the sermon.

- 1809

• May 17 Napoleon suppresses the Papal States.
• July 6 Pope Pius VII is deported.

- 1810

• June 13 Gaspar refuses the oath of fidelity to Napoleon for the first time. He is condemned to exile.
• July 15 He arrives in Piacenza, the place of his exile.
• September Gaspar is gravely ill and near death.
• December He is transferred to Bologna.

- 1811

• October 20 The death of Annunziata del Bufalo, mother of Gaspar.
• September 13 Having refused a second time the oath of fidelity to the emperor, Gaspar is arrested in Bologna and then locked up in the prison of S. Giovanni in Monte.

- 1813

• January 12 Gaspar is transferred to the prison in Imola.
• March 5 Gaspar is transferred to the fortress in Imola.
• May 16 Having refused still another time to take the oath, Gaspar is moved to the fortress in Lugo.
• June 17 Fr. Bonanni, in Rome, institutes the group of priests called "Evangelical Workers", to promote the preaching of missions.
• December 10 Gaspar is sent back to Bologna and, still rejecting the oath, is condemned to Corsica.
• December 20 He arrives in Florence and awaits orders to leave for Livorno where he is then to embark for Corisca.
• December 27 The "Evangelical Workers: write to him in Florence, through the secretary Fr. Antonio Santelli, inviting him to become a member of their group.

- 1814

• January 14 Gaspar responds with enthusiasm to the invitation.
• January 26 Murat enters Rome and restores liberty to the priests who had been detained or exiled for refusal to take the oath.
• February Gaspar returns to Rome after four years of exile and imprisonment.
• March 10 Napoleon gives Pius VII his freedom.
• May 24 Pius VII returns to Rome.
• November 30 Pius VII grants the monastery and Church of S. Felice of Giano for the establishment of the Institute of the Missions.
• December 8 Gaspar begins his missionary activity with his first mission given in the Church of S. Nicola in Carcere, Rome.

- 1815

• July 20 Gaspar renounces his Canonry at St. Mark's in order to be free to dedicate himself to the missions.
• August 15 THE FIRST HOUSE OF THE INSTITUTE IS OPENED AT S. FELICE OF GIANO. A solemn Te Deum is sung by the "first four members there."
• November 20 to December 10
• Benevento --- the city where the first solemn to mission is called for by the Holy Father himself. The most famous preachers of Rome join with Gaspar.

- 1816

He preaches missions and retreats.

- 1817

• He preaches missions and retreats.
• December 27 Gaspar is elected First Promotor and Missionary of the Archconfraternity of the Precious Blood.

- 1818

He preaches missions and retreats.

- 1819

• He preaches missions and retreats.
• Gaspar publishes his "Method of the Holy Missions," and the regulations for the establishment of parochial societies wherever missions were given in order to continue the work begun in the mission.
• July 22 With the intention of extirpating brigandage, rampant in Marittima and Campagna, Pius VII issues the decree for the destruction of the city of Sonnino, stronghold of the brigands.

- 1820

• He preaches missions and retreats.
• June 7 Pievetornia --- FIRST CONGRESSUS OF THE INSTITUTE. Gaspar clarifies and amplifies the Regula, already outlined in Giano from the beginning.

- 1821

• In Rome, Gaspar prepares "The Project of Religious and Moral Culture for the Province of Marittima and Campagna."
• October 28 Pius VII signs the Document with which he entrusts to the Saint the moral reformation of the provinces infested by brigandage, and he orders the opening of six mission houses in that area. Gaspar makes an inspection tour of Marittma and Campagna and contacts the bishops and civic authorities with the purpose for finding buildings suitable for the foundations.

- 1822

• He preaches missions and retreats.
• March 3 Mission (in Vallecorsa). The first meeting of Gaspar with Maria de Mattias. While preaching, he looks at her and points to the crucifix he is holding. He will entrust her direction later to Fr. Giovanni Merlini so that he can prepare her for the foundation of the Sisters Adorers.

- 1823

He preaches missions and retreats.

- 1823

• April 18 Opening of the Mission House in BENEVENTO.
• August 20 Pope Pius VII dies in Rome.
• September 28 Election of Pope Leo XII.

- 1826

• He preaches missions and spiritual exercises. Opening of the mission houses in Sonnino and Sermoneta. Reopening of the house of Terracina.
• January 7 Cardinal Giulio Della Somaglia, the Pro-Prefect of the Propaganda Fide asks of St. Gaspar a missionary for the foreign missions.
• January Pope Leo XII orders that St. Gaspar be called to Rome from San Felice, Giano.
• February: Pope Leo XII wants to send St. Gaspar as Nuncio in Brazil.
• 17 February St. Gaspar seeks the cooperation of Monsignor Cristaldi so that this appointment be nullified; nevertheless, he has to remain in Rome, working in the Propaganda Fide.
• 13 March Father Gaspare Carboneri and brother Giacomo Velletrani leave for the Ionian Islands.
• 2 October Monsignor Bellisario Cristaldi is named a Cardinal in pectore. Middle of October: St. Gaspar received permission to resume his missionary activity.
• 25 October St. Gaspar is again in San Felice, in Giano (Umbria)

- 1827

• He preaches missions and spiritual exercises. Opening of the mission house in Pievetorina.
• 11 February Father Carboneri arrives in Ancona, returning from the foreign missions.

- 1828

• February Msgr. Bellisario Cristaldi goes to Naples for health reasons
• 4 February Closing of the Terracina House
• 16 February Closing of the Sonnino House
• 20 March Opening of the House of Studies in Albano Laziale (Rome)
• 15 December Leo XII names Msgr. Bellisario Cristaldi a Cardinal December - Cardinal Cristaldi renounces the Office of General Treasurer that he occupied since 6 June 1820. He is replaced by Bishop Mario Mattei.

- 1829

• 10 February Leo XII dies
• 13 March Pius VIII is elected
• April Pius VIII suspends the payment of the government subsidy for the Houses in the Province of the Marittima and Campagna
• 3 June The Pope repeals the suspension of the subsidy September - Gaspar opens the House of Studies in Benevento; Gaspar goes to Naples to treat the founding of a House there

- 1830

• 30 November Pius VIII dies
• [During these three years St. Gaspar was untiring in the preaching of numerous missions. He also preached retreats in seminaries, to nuns, to the clergy and to soldiers.]

- 1831

• 2 February Election of Pope Gregory XVI
• 25 February Death of Cardinal Bellisario Cristaldi
• 31 October Death of Antonio del Bufalo, father of St. Gaspar, in Rome
• 16 November Opening of the Mission House in Nepi

- 1832

• 28 May Opening of the House in Macerata Feltria (Pesaro)
• 29 December Opening of the House in Cesena (Forli)

- 1833

• 20 April Reopening of the House in Soninno (Latina)
• 25 October Opening of the Mission House of Pennabilli (Pe-saro)

- 1834

• 4 March Maria de Mattias begins the Institute of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Acuto (Frosinone).
• 2 June Inauguration of the new Mission House in Vallecorsa (Frosinone).

- 1835

• June Presentation of a descriptive document about the Congregation to Pope Gregory XVI through the mediation of Giovanni Cardenal Fransoni
• September-October
  Revision of the "Method" and "Directions" of the Congregation in Albano. During these two years (1834-1835) St. Gaspar preached approximately nine Spiritual Retreats, two Popular Missions, one Month of Mary, two Lenten Series, one Month of the Precious Blood and he dedicated much energy to the visitation of the Mission Houses (there were more or less 17 houses).

- 1836

August The cholera already present in Italy, gets to Ancona. End of December - During the mission in Nepi he contracts a strong convulsive cough.

- 1837

• August The cholera erupts in the city of Rome
• August He preaches the "40 Hours" in the New Church in Rome 15 October - He presides in the "Thanksgiving" for the end of the cholera in Rome
• October He returns to Albano for recuperation, by order to the doctor
• 4 December Gaspar returns to Rome
• 28 December Gaspar dies in Rome

During this last period of his life, i.e., between 1836-1837, Gaspar preached eleven Spiritual Retreats, four Popular Missions, two Lenten Series and his last Month of the Precious Blood, which he was not able to finish. He also made the visitation of three Mission Houses.