Joseph Marello

Joseph Marello (Italian: Giuseppe Marello) was born on 26 December 1844 in Turin, then in the Kingdom of Sardinia, the son of Vincenzo Marello and Anna Maria Viale. After his mother's death in his early childhood, the family settled at San Martino Alfieri in the Asti district of Piedmont, where he received his first schooling. He entered the diocesan seminary of Asti. During his studies he suffered a grave illness, after which traditional accounts say he bound himself more firmly to the priesthood. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Asti on 19 September 1868.

Soon after ordination he became secretary to Bishop Carlo Savio of Asti, whom he accompanied to Rome for the First Vatican Council. In that office he was known for diligence, discretion, and a marked devotion to Saint Joseph. Concerned with the Christian education of youth and with practical help for parish clergy, he gathered a small community of men in Asti. On 14 March 1878 they began common life as the Congregation of the Oblates of Saint Joseph, dedicated to imitating the hidden life and virtues of Saint Joseph through humble work, catechesis, and the education of the young. Marello later also served as a canon of the cathedral of Asti while remaining the founder and guide of the new congregation.

In 1889 Pope Leo XIII appointed him Bishop of Acqui. As bishop he was noted for pastoral simplicity, visitation of parishes, care for the poor, and attention to priestly life, while continuing to support the Oblates. In May 1895 he travelled to Savona to take part in commemorations of the third centenary of the death of Saint Philip Neri. There he fell ill and died on 30 May 1895, at the age of fifty. He was first buried at Acqui; his remains were later transferred to the church of the Oblates of Saint Joseph in Asti, where they are venerated.

A cult grew around him among the Oblates and in the dioceses of Asti and Acqui. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 26 September 1993 in Asti and canonized by the same pope on 25 November 2001 in Saint Peter's Square. His liturgical feast is kept on 30 May. The Oblates of Saint Joseph continue his apostolate in a number of countries, and he is invoked as their patron.