Gavazzi

Gavazzi, Father Alessandro, was born at Bologna in 1809, and, entering the Romish priesthood, joined the order of Barnabites, amongst whom he soon acquired reputation as a preacher. He was appointed Professor of Rhetoric at Naples, and on the accession of Pius IX. to the tiara in 1846, he actively supported the Pope's Liberal policy, and served as chaplain-general to the Roman legion sent to aid the Milanese. When the views of the Holy Father changed, he cast off his allegiance, and joined in the revolution of 1848. The French occupation of Rome compelled him to seek a refuge in England, and for some years he figured as an Anti-Popery lecturer in Great Britain and the United States. He also published his Memoirs and some of his Orations. In 1860 he took part with Garibaldi in his invasion of Sicily, and did not return to England until 1876, when he again lectured for the benefit of the Free Italian Church. He died in 1889.