Guests, nuns and volunteers bring this place to life, valuing every person and every situation. You come in to offer a little of your time and help, and you leave with joy in your heart.
There were already two charity homes in Bologna: one in Corticella and one in Borgo Panigale.
Cardinal Giacomo Biffi commissioned the third charity centre as a symbol of the 1987 diocesan Eucharistic Congress.
It was opened with great dedication by the then Mother Superior, Sister Concetta, a nun of the Lesser Carmelites of the Case della Carità, founded by Don Mario Prandi, a priest of the Diocese of Reggio Emilia, by Don Enrico Sazzini, parish priest of San Giovanni in Persiceto and then vicar of the Persiceto-Castelfranco vicariate, and by Deacon Corrado Moretti.
The house was inaugurated on 4 October 1988, the feast day of Saint Petronius.
The house is situated near the sanctuary of the Madonna del Poggio, in a building called Villa Pia, where the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea used to live.
The spirit that animates life at the House of Charity is represented by the symbol of the three loaves from which we are nourished: the Table of the Word, the Table of the Eucharist, and the Table of the Poor; united in a single destiny, a sign of the unity and complementarity between them.
It is the guests who enrich the house; their presence is invaluable: there are both women and men, each with their own story. They welcome you warmly, together with Sister Gabriella, a valued figure who oversees the running of the house.
The personal care of guests is provided by volunteers who take turns throughout the week.
In the house chapel, the guests, Sister Gabriella and the volunteers come together for moments of prayer and Mass, where they pray for everyone and for the intentions of those who pass by and ask for prayers.
As in any home, there are plenty of things to do. I won’t list them all here, but I invite you to come and visit us, because the home needs everyone and is open to all: it’s one big, welcoming family.
Cardinal Biffi used to say: ”When someone asks you, “Where can I meet God?”, you say: ‘Go there and you’ll find Him!’”
”Because that is where the house of charity is, that is to say, the house of God, who is charity.’
A twenty-five-minute train journey from Bologna, eight kilometres from the Bologna-Modena motorway junction, on the Italian section of EuroVelo 7 for those arriving by bike.
San Giovanni in Persiceto station, Bologna–Verona line. Trains run every 30 minutes from Bologna Centrale; the journey takes 25 minutes.
A14 motorway, take the Borgo Panigale or Modena Nord exit, then the SS568. Free car parks near the city centre.
On the Ciclovia del Sole (EuroVelo 7), 25 kilometres from Bologna along the cycle path on the former railway line.
Save the attractions, plan your route, and follow the Cultural Metro lines.
