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schools educational pioneers Lorenzo Milani Comparetti
Educational Pioneers: Lorenzo Milani Comparetti (Italy, 1923-67)
Figure 1.--Lorenzo Milani Comparetti was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He was born in Florence in 1923 to a wealthy family. His parent were secularists. In 1943 Lorenzo converted from agnosticism to Catholicism and in 1947 he was ordined a priest. Calenzano, near Florence, was his first assignment. There he started a school aid service for poor children. The service assisted the children of both Catholic and non-believing families. At the time in Tuscany there were many Communists. That scandalized many conservative Catholics. Here is a group outside the school. Click on the image to see a lesson.
Lorenzo Milani Comparetti was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He was born in Florence in 1923 to a wealthy family. His parent were secularists. In 1943 Lorenzo converted from agnosticism to Catholicism and in 1947 he was ordined a priest. Calenzano, near Florence, was his first assignment. There he started a school aid service for poor children. The service assisted the children of both Catholic and non-believing families. At the time in Tuscany there were many Communists. That scandalized many conservative Catholics. In 1954 Lorenzo Milani became the parish priest in Barbiana, a little village in the mountains near Florence. Because there was no school in the village, most of the children has no way of obtaining an education. Lorenzo started a school in the parish house. The school motto was "I care" (in English). Father Lorenzo died in 1967 of leukemia.
