Born in Milan on December 6, 1851.
Died there on April 10, 1935.
Graduated in law in Pavia in 1874, he married Anna Gallarati Scotti and committed his life to political and social activity. Exponent of the Catholic-liberal wing, in 1888 he bought and directed until 1900 the newspaper "La Lega Lombarda", commissioned by the archbishop of Milan Nazari di Calabiana and by the bishop of Cremona Bonomelli as a counterpart to Albertario's intransigent "Osservatore Cattolico" . In 1899 he founded the association for the public interests «Religione e Patria» in Milan. Elected deputy in 1904, between 1904 and 1913 he was a member of the party opposed to Giolitti and in this he represented the Catholic political world; his open support for Mussolini in 1924 earned him the nomination of senator.
As president of the diocesan committee for the episcopal jubilee of Leo XIII, he attended the meeting of 18 February 1894 in the church of Valduce where the diocesan Catholic works were presented, including the then Little House of Divine Providence. From the pages of the newspaper «La Lega Lombarda» he always followed the initiatives of the Guanellian works with attention and benevolence, while Don Luigi showed a certain reservation towards the liberal organ of the conservatives. Finally, in 1923, Count Cornaggia sold one of his lawns located in Briona to the Guanellians of *Fara Novarese at a favorable price, since it was a charity work.
Sources:
SILVIA PIZZETTI, ad vocem, in Historical dictionary of the Catholic movement in Italy, vol. II: The protagonists, Casale Monferrato, Marietti, 1982, pp. 128-132 and in Biographical Dictionary of Italians, vol. XXIX, Rome, Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, 1983, pp. 107-113.
ANGELO MAJO, ad vocem, in Dictionary of the Ambrosian Church, vol. II, Milan, NED, 1988, pp. 923-924.
Guanellian sources:
Closing of the jubilee year of Leo XIII, in «La Divina Provvidenza», 1894, pp. 130-131.
General Archive of the Servants of Charity, Rome, Minutes of the meetings of the Superior Council of the congregation of the Servants of Charity, vol. I, 6 September 1923, no. 10.
SACRA RITUUM CONGREGATIONE, Comen. seu Mediolanen. Beatificationis et canonizationis servi Dei Aloysii Guanella [...]. Positio super virtutibus, Summarium, Romae, Typis Guerra et Belli, 1950, p. 657 (witness Don Martino Cugnasca).
Photographs:
«The Vatican Illustration», 1937, p. 979.