The ways of Providence are the final balance of Don Guanella's entire activity, of his entire life at the service of the poor. And the balance appears positive: the line marked by Providence has accompanied him throughout the journey. He succeeds in explaining and demonstrating how it was God's guidance that led him forward. At the end of life it could be easy to select that trend followed for so many years and explain it to oneself and to faithful companions along the way. But these 'memoirs' demonstrate a relevant personal maturity: there is no emphasis, there are no dreams or vainglory, there is not even a satisfaction that could be legitimate. There is however a certain serene and quiet security. It is the story of an old man who revisits his story before God, himself and his confreres, and reads it again with the conviction that he served God and the poor where he was sent, with great maturity. What she thinks of his life, of the dark moments of the choices, of the difficult and hard moments of the origins, of the hopes that follow, of the tireless industriousness confident in the continuous divine assistance: everything is reflected in it, clearly and with great balance. We are faced with a very broad and detailed story, a fresh and faithful memory".
Don Piero Pellegrini, 1989
