Passing by the Arco della Pace, in Milan, one freezing autumn morning in 1908, Don Guanella heard a coachman who, taking it out on his horse, uttered a barrage of horrendous curses.
Don Luigi approached and, although he didn't really need the carriage, he said to him:
- Friend, would you please take me to via Cagnola at number 11?
It didn't seem real to the coachman: he made him get on and, with a crack of the whip, set the horse in gear. Don Guanella took a good look at that poorly dressed man, in a worn coat and an old hat: his face clearly indicated that he must have been fasting for a long time; the carriage was rickety and the horse as adamant as the master; an old saddle cloth full of holes and patches protected the poor animal from the cold, which was barely getting by.
As they reached their destination, Don Guanella got out of the carriage and said to the driver:
— Would you like to take the opportunity to get some refreshment? With this cold and humidity, it's really needed... And perhaps your horse will like a nice hot drink too. Pass.
The driver, embarrassed as he was, was unable to say no and Don Guanella rang the bell next to the door. A nun appeared who was embarrassed to find in front of her that undernourished horse, that mustachioed driver and the smiling face of Don Guanella who said to her:
“This friend of mine is here who needs a little refreshment. We should immediately prepare him a nice hot soup, some bread and cheese and a bottle of wine.
He then called Andreìn Trombetta, a guest of the house who had the donkey in custody, and said to him:
'Andrein, let's prepare a nice bucket of warm drink for that poor horse who must be very hungry.
The nun and Andreìn were surprised but, without replying, they went to do what they had been commanded, while the driver and Don Guanella stood around the fire talking. A little later the horse had its refreshment and the master was seated at the table in front of a nice soup, a wheel of cheese and one of bread.
Appetite was not lacking and the soup quickly disappeared while the bread and cheese had a severe lesson. The bottle was meted out to a slow death as the coachman enjoyed the conversation more and more and the smile returned to his face.
When the snack was over, Don Guanella wrapped up the leftovers and gave them to the coachman who had risen to thank him, in a very different mood from the one he was in when he met his client.
"Dear friend," Don Guanella told him, "I realize that hunger is a bad advisor and that it was precisely the one who was telling you just now to light all those candles, but be careful, otherwise, together with your patience and health, you will also lose 'soul.
"You are right," replied the driver, you are quite right, and believe me, I am not the scoundrel that I may have seemed to you. This life has made me develop a bad habit and I really think I should do everything to break it. I promise you and many thanks for everything.
Don Guanella accompanied her to the door and greeted him. Once he got on the box and resumed his journey, the coachman met a woman and stopped to ask her:
- But who is that priest who lives in that door?
"But don't you know that?" It is our Don Luigi Guanella, a saint of the Lord!
"Really," said the driver, "a saint of the Lord really lives there."