Paul Albera was born at None, between Turin and Pinerolo, on June 6, 1845, the son of comparatively well-off peasants. He was the youngest of seven children. His biographers tell us he was a good child, rather delicate, fond of school and the church ceremonies, and they emphasize his "exquisite gentleness" which, they maintain, remained characteristic of Father Albera throughout his life. His fist encounter with Don Bosco took place in October, 1858. The saint happened to be a guest of the parish priest of None, who availed himself of the opportunity to recommend this young boy of thirteen. Father Rua tested him for admission and young Paul was accepted right away. He himself recorded that he entered the oratory on October 18, and it would appear that there was nothing extraordinary to distinguish him from the other boys.

He proved to be calm, cheerful, and studious, and the atmosphere of the place suited him to perfection. Dominic Savio had died only the previous year, and his memory was a stimulus to the best of the boys whom Paul liked. He struck up a friendship with Michael Magone, his roommate, but it was of short duration for Michael died on January 21, 1859, after a very brief illness. Don Bosco had foretold his death, a prophecy which made a great impression. Julius Barberis was a friend of Paul Albera during these early years at the Oratory, and he left the following record of him: "He was extremely fond of games and always on the move; on the other hand, he was rather quiet, preferring to walk about or to remain in Father Alasonatti's office to help him with little jobs. He loved to study and was first in class. He had talent and great will power. Above all, however, his great piety endeared him to Don Bosco. This special affection of Don Bosco towards his pupil must have been well known at the Oratory, for we find that, apparently without malice, Albera was called "Don Bosco's Benjamin."

Sixty years later Father Albera was moved by the recollection: "Even now I can remember the great gentleness of his affection. I was a prisoner of a loving care which filled my thoughts, words, and actions." It is true, as he himself says, that his companions had a similar feeling for Don Bosco but it was Albera whom Don Bosco chose one day in 1861 to pose at a prie-dieu next to him as a penitent, when he was photographed hearing confessions.

The Salesian

On May 1, 1860, Albera (then a student) was admitted "to the practice of the Rules of the Society." He was only fifteen at the time and looked even younger. On October 27, 1861, he put on the clerical cassock and on May 14, 1862, he was one of the first twenty-two Salesians to pronounce their vows publicly. From then on his faith in Don Bosco and his purpose never wavered.

Fall 1863 witnessed the first change in the life of the young Salesian. He left the Oratory to go to Mirabello, where he worked as a teacher and assistant in the newly opened school. During the school year of 1855-1856, one of his liveliest pupils was red-haired Louis Lasagna, a fact he would remember later in 1910, when writing the biography of the Salesian Bishop of Brazil. In addition to his other duties, Albera still found time to obtain a teaching diploma and to attend theology lectures in preparation for his priesthood.

He was ordained at Casale on August 2, 1868. On the eve of that event, he went to Don Bosco, as he had often done, for some advice or keepsake. The saint said: "When you have the joy of saying your first Mass, ask God for the grace of never getting discouraged!" Father Albera admitted that he only realized the importance of these words a good while later-no doubt when his time of trial had come.

Responsibilities in Italy and France

Shortly after his ordination he was recalled to Turin, where the superior made him prefect for the externs and put him in charge of admission. He was happy to be with Don Bosco once more, either at the Oratory or on journeys, and in his own words he was convinced that "the one thing necessary to become a worthy son was to be like him in everything." He made every effort therefore to think and speak and act like Don Bosco whom, with affection and respect, he called his father.

As of 1871, when he was only twenty-six years old, important offices were entrusted to him. First he was chosen to be rector at Marassi; later in 1872, when this house was transferred, he became rector at Sampierdarena, near Genoa. Under his direction the house made an excellent start, at first as a technical school, later enlarged to include secondary school classes and, in 1875, a section for "late vocations." In 1877 there were 300 pupils. Father Albera's gifts made him well liked by the pupils, their families, and in the Archdiocese of Genoa.

In 1881 he received news that upset him: he was to be transferred to France as provincial. After gentle chiding by Don Bosco, he arrived at Marseilles in October. For eleven years, (i.e. from 1881 until 1892), he devoted himself to the development of the young French province. It was a productive period, and the number of houses went up from three to thirteen. Father Albera traveled the country far and wide in the course of duty, visiting especially Paris, Lille, and Dinan, where new foundations were established. The progress of the Salesian work went on despite serious difficulties due to the hostility of the French government and the lack of means, which sometimes became an enormous problem. Father Cartier of Nice describes Father Albera as a "man of action, but above all of inner action." His first concern was the spiritual progress of the persons he met, in particular the boys, religious, and Cooperators under his care, which was one of the reasons why the people of Marseilles called him, in a well-meaning way, the "little Don Bosco."

When he was recalled to Turin in 1892, it was very painful for him to have to leave Marseilles. He became catechist general of the Congregation, a position left vacant by the death of Father Bonetti. Getting used to the new office was not easy. His private notes, which he began to write in 1893, reflect how the lack of direct ministry depressed him. Though his health began to cause concern, he was able to officiate on numerous retreats and to make frequent visits to Italy, France, and Belgium. The most important event of this period was the journey already mentioned, when he went as Father Rua's special representative to America in 1900. The trip took three years, in the course of which he covered thousands of miles under conditions that would ordinarily have killed a stronger man. Everywhere he was received with great enthusiasm. On his return he fell victim to several illnesses and he thought that death was near.

Rector Major, 1910-1921

He was elected by the members of the General Chapter to succeed Father Rua on August 16, 1910. In the election he received only a very slight majority of votes over Father Rinaldi who was then prefect of the Congregation. Thinking of his precarious health, the newly-elected rector major murmured: I'm afraid that you will soon have to have another election!"

Father Ceria believes "although he never expressly said so, that Father Albera must have considered it his principal mandate to make the Salesians men of piety and prayer." Many who had come to know Father Albera's meditative spirit will agree and an examination of his writings confirms Father Ceria's opinion. "The spirit of piety" was the dominant theme of his circular letters, one of the very first of which dealt exclusively with it. He was afraid that the Salesians' stress on activity, their "apparently indefatigable zeal," the drive "that has so far sustained their success" would one day fail, because they were not "renewed, purified, and sanctified by true and profound piety." With great discernment, absorbed from his favorite authors, Father Albera wrote year after year a series of essays on piety, religious discipline, the priesthood, the life of faith, obedience, chastity, kindness-all incitements to Salesian virtues. He was also the author of the Rector's Manual in which he presented the traditional guidelines concerning the office of superior.

Although Father Albera did not travel as much as his predecessor, he recognized the need of direct contact with the members of the Salesian family. In his line of duty, he covered Italy and was received with great cordiality by Popes Pius X and Benedict XV in Rome. (In 1915 the latter had honored the Congregation by making Cagliero the first Salesian Cardinal.) In 1913 he made a five month trip to Spain which the Salesian Bulletin described as "a great and solemn triumph." He also visited Austria, Poland, Yugoslavia, England, and Belgium. On his last journey to Marseilles in 1921, there were wonderful demonstrations of the esteem in which he was held. We are told that everywhere people liked to hear him speak of Don Bosco, whose smile and simplicity he so clearly reflected.

World War I (1914-1918) put the Congregation and its superior general to severe tests. Almost two thousand Salesians were under arms in Europe and there were known instances of confreres having to fight each other. Many Salesian schools had been converted into barracks or hospitals.

Another effect of the war was that a general chapter could not be held during Father Albera's rectorship. Father Albera did what he could to keep pace with the situation.

The rector major certainly did contribute to the development of the Salesian work. For example, at the request of the Holy See, he accepted new and difficult mission territories Katanga (Central Africa) in 1911, Rio Negro (Brazil) in 1904, Shiu-Chow (China) in 1917, Gran Chaco (Paraguay) in 1920, and Assam (India) in 1921. Taking on these works was all the more laudable in view of the scarcity of men and means during those difficult years.

Under him the Salesians entered new countries: Hungary in 1913, and Germany in 1922, and Central America and Cuba in 1921. It should be noted finally that in 1917 the official relationship between the male and female congregations founded by Don Bosco was resumed, and that the International Federation of Past Pupils was founded in 1920.

Although Father Albera's health had been poor for a long time, he reached the age of seventy-six and died in 1921 on the 29th of October. He was remembered as a true man of God.