Fr Costantino Vendrame was born into a family of modest means but with strong Christian values, a family tested by illness and bereavement. From a very young age he felt a vocation to the priesthood and entered, in 1908, the seminary of the Diocese of Ceneda (Vittorio Veneto), before joining the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1912, motivated by his love for the missions and his desire to become a missionary.

A novice in 1913, he made his temporary vows in 1914 and his perpetual vows in 1920, forming himself in religious life through practical training. The First World War saw him as an exemplary soldier in his fidelity to his vocation. Ordained a priest on 15 March 1924 in Milan, he received the missionary crucifix on 5 October in Turin, in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.

He then set off for north-eastern India (Assam) and reached Shillong on 24 December 1924. He worked as a missionary – and almost always as a parish priest – in Shillong-Laitumkhrah, Jowai, in Wandiwash in Tamil Nadu (southern India) and finally in Shillong-Mawkhar, from 1951 until his death.

Fr Vendrame became a legendary figure: a travelling missionary who covered immense distances on foot to reach the most remote villages, making himself “the poorest of the poor” and accepting with a smile the wear and tear of his labours and the dangers of the apostolic life; a man of dialogue, who, through his charity, drew thousands of souls to Christ, evangelising village by village, hut by hut. He was held in high esteem not only by Christians, but also by people of other faiths, who regarded him as a true “man of God”.

Forced to take a break during the Second World War, an Italian citizen on British soil, he was imprisoned with many others, first under the custody of the Gurkhas, then in Deoli, and finally in Dehra Dun; in that apparent immobility, he revealed a strength that comforted and sustained.

Suffering from osteoarthritis, including in his spine, and afflicted by excruciating pain that caused him to faint, he lived the final months of his life in total self-sacrifice whilst hospitalised in Dibrugarh; he died on the eve of the feast of St John Bosco: 30 January 1957.

His funeral was a triumph of faith and gratitude. During his lifetime, he had been accompanied by a widespread reputation for holiness and signs, and was compared to St Paul, St Francis Xavier and St Vincent de Paul. It was said of him: “We remember Don Vendrame as a priest who loved us with the heart of Christ, warm and human, strong and faithful, ready to give his life for us” .

The news of his Venerability was received with great joy in his hometown, San Martino di Colle Umberto, and by the Diocese of Vittorio Veneto, which have always promoted and championed the Cause for Beatification of their fellow citizen with great passion.

The Archdiocese of Shillong and the Salesian Family of North-East India also rejoice at this recognition, which confirms a history of great missionary work and holiness lived in the apostolic spirit of Don Bosco.

“The Venerability of Fr Vendrame,” declared Fr Pierluigi Cameorni, Postulator General for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family, “is the recognition of a missionary of hope among the peoples. Through personal contact, he conveyed the love of the Lord’s compassionate Heart, convinced that ‘the Heart of Christ […] is the living core of the first proclamation’ (Encyclical Letter Dilexit Nos, 32). Drawing from this source, he brought, with apostolic zeal, the very consolation of God, which embraces the whole world. Finally, it is worth noting that the veneration of Fr Vendrame is recognised during the novena of Pentecost and that of Mary Help of Christians, which coincide this year. Fr Vendrame, in fact, as well as being an ardent apostle of the Sacred Heart, was a missionary docile to the action of the Holy Spirit and a devoted son of Mary Help of Christians, in the spirit of Don Bosco.”