Pietro Bondolfi, the SMB Founder
Born in Rome on April 10, 1872, and died in Immensee (Schwyz), Switzerland, on June 27, 1943.
Pietro Bondolfi (1872–1943) was an Italian-born priest and the first Superior General of the Bethlehem Mission Society (SMB).
He significantly contributed to shaping the Society into a missionary institution, promoting its spiritual vision and expanding its activities beyond Switzerland.
From Early Life to Priesthood
Bondolfi, who had been orphaned in 1882, was ordained in 1896 after seminary studies in Chur, Switzerland.
He gained a doctorate in Canon Law after studies at Innsbruck and Rome. At Louvain, he won a licentiate in economics (1898).
He was appointed archivist of the Diocese of Chur, and in 1900 served in the parish of St. Moritz.
Building and Transforming the Bethlehem School
In 1904 Bondolfi was named canonical visitor of the apostolic school of Bethlehem in Immensee, founded by Peter Barrall to educate priests for missions and poor dioceses.
During a financial crisis in 1907 Bondolfi was appointed director of the school. In this position he placed the school on a sound financial basis, dedicated it to the Sacred Heart, and infused it with a new spirit.
Pius X suggested that the school become a missionary institute, but the plan was not put into effect until 1921 when Bondolfi became the first superior general of the Bethlehem Fathers. He served in this office until his death.
A Lasting Missionary Impact
Throughout Switzerland Bondolfi promoted interest in the missions, especially through the monthly periodical Bethlehem.
In 1924 he sent his first missionaries to China. At his death the institute had four foundations in Switzerland.
Pietro Bondolfi revealed his spirituality in the booklet Der Geist des Kindes von Bethlehem (1938).
(...) It is the spirit of that marvellous simplicity and plainness which our Lord Jesus Christ taught from the cradle in Bethlehem (...)
(..) Ce qui est naturel chez l’enfant doit être recherché et cultivé consciemment chez l’adulte, au prix d’un véritable effort (..)
The Spirit of the Child of Bethlehem, written by P. Bondolfi, Superior General, Immensee, Christmas 1939.
