Servant of God Michael Ansaldo
Servant of God Michael Ansaldo was born on 29th September, at Messina, in the year 1739 on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. On 15th January 1754 at the age of fifteen, he and his elder brother Joseph Ansaldo entered the Society of Jesus at Messina. They were ordained together on 19 September, 1767 at Palermo. Servant of God as a Jesuit missionary, landed at Pondicherry in 1771. He baptized many children in Pondicherry, worked as a procurator of Malabar mission. He taught Catechism in schools, at the parish, and at working places. He was the Director of the Pondicherry Carmelite Convent, the Founder of the Congregation of St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1775), Superior of the 3 Religious Convents and he started for the first time a small Ansaldo’s school for Girls in 1787 at Pondicherry He was delegated as the Apostolic Visitor to the Madras Capuchin Convent in 1804. He left on October 16, 1805 for Madras and made the sacrifice of his enlightenment and his tastes. The Servant of God Michael Ansaldo died at Madras, in the Capuchin Convent, on 2 November on the feast of “ALL SOULS” in 1805.
- Observe the rules very faithfully
- I am just an Instrument of God
- This convent will remain forever
- Find joy in telling pleasant things
- Be patient and prayerful
- Fix your eyes on the Holy Crucifix
- O God take care of my Children
- Your humblest Servant M. Ansaldo