ourroots

From the Sewing Room to the Publishing House

“Ancient spirit, new forms.” This was the operative principle of the Venerable Father James Alberione, Founder of the Daughters of St. Paul as he strove to fulfill the mission entrusted to him by God. The ancient spirit was that of the Gospel, of St. Paul, and of the best tradition of the Church. The new forms were those suggested by human progress in the twentieth century: the press, motion pictures, radio, television, that is the means of social communications. With admirable determination and courage, but not without difficulty and criticism, Fr. Alberione entered this field and gave it an authentic sense of apostolate.

Still a young priest, he accepted the responsibility of directing a weekly newspaper Gazzetta d’Alba which at present is still circulating. When the proper time came, he founded the Typographical School which became the seed of the Society of St. Paul and later the Daughters of St. Paul. A few years after he would found a group of lay collaborators, and a bit later, three more religious institutes and four aggregates.

In the beginning, the Daughters of St. Paul were in the sewing room. The date is June 15, 1915. In biblical language, the first members worked in the vineyard of the Lord at the first hour in the morning. A few months earlier, Fr. Alberione had just given life to the typographical school, gathering around himself innocent protagonists who, according to him, were destined for a great adventure: to print the word of God, Bibles, gospels, religious books, magazines, etc. And like the boys, the women were promised the same.

The first Daughters of St. Paul had no name, but they trusted every word of Fr. Alberione. The shining future he promised them was at that time limited to a small room in a house in Alba, the one formerly occupied by the boys, who transferred to another place in search for a bit bigger space. The room had a name “Workshop for Women” But theirs’ was a work which had nothing to do with what had been said to them. They were sewing the clothes of the soldiers to earn some stipend to contribute to the project of the Founder. And what they knew about sewing was just more than mending socks. But Teresa Merlo, one of the three women, had a golden hand for this. And Fr. Alberione had the intuition that she too, had a golden heart.

The girls taught catechism at San Damiano church and they opened a small store for books and religious articles. Other girls started to join them. Three years after, in 1918, something unexpected took place. Fr. Alberione was asked by the Bishop of Susa, Northern Italy, to take over the printing of the diocesan weekly Val Susa, otherwise it would die. He accepted the offer but instead of sending the boys who had little experience, he sent the women.

The leap form the sewing room to the printing press was certainly not commensurate to the women’s capacity, but it is said that for one to learn how to swim, someone must give the push. And so it happened, with much sacrifice, but with tremendous faith and generosity, those who went to Susa were able to continue printing the diocesan weekly and other printing jobs were entrusted to them. Meanwhile in Alba, the Founder invited other girls to be part of the same institute.

In 1922, the Founder recalled the two groups for a spiritual retreat and they pronounced their private religious vows. Appointed as superior general was Sr. Teresa Merlo, the woman with a golden hand for sewing and fortunately had a golden heart for guiding others. The small group increased in number. The women worked in the printing press of the Society of St. Paul and went about the families spreading the good reading materials that were printed. Despite the fact that the work was tiresome and the sisters had no habit, many girls asked to become members. They wore their habit for the first time in 1928, with the dress designed by the superior general. The institute received its pontifical approval on March 15, 1953.

The Founder knew the capacity of women especially if associated with the priestly work. He encouraged them not only to print and distribute books, but also to write. They have the same apostolate as the first institute for men, the Society of St. Paul. As the years progressed, the sisters took upon themselves the various work in the field of social communications. Now scattered in 50 countries all over the world, the Daughters of St. Paul work in the press, radio, television, cinema and use other forms of audio-visual instruments in proclaiming the word of God.