The Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo Project is a collaborative endeavor, between business, the academy and the Church. It seeks to bring the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching to business professionals across for-profit and mission-driven organizations, including those who work in the Church. The project exists to deepen our formation, both spiritually and professionally, by building a local community of people who love, live, and implement the insights of the social magisterium in their lives and organizations. 

Integration of CST into Principles of Microeconomics course.

• Syllabus 

• Lake Erie, Lake Max

"Businesses should be characterized by their capacity to serve the common good of society through the production of useful goods and services. In seeking to produce goods and services according to plans aimed at efficiency and at satisfying the interests of the different parties involved, businesses create wealth for all of society, not just for the owners but also for the other subjects involved in their activity. Besides this typically economic function, businesses also perform a social function, creating opportunities for meeting, cooperating and the enhancement of the abilities of the people involved. In a business undertaking, therefore, the economic dimension is the condition for attaining not only economic goals, but also social and moral goals, which are all pursued together.

A business' objective must be met in economic terms and according to economic criteria, but the authentic values that bring about the concrete development of the person and society must not be neglected. In this personalistic and community vision, 'a business cannot be considered only as a ‘society of capital goods'; it is also a "society of persons" in which people participate in different ways and with specific responsibilities, whether they supply the necessary capital for the company's activities or take part in such activities through their labour'." -Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, para. 338

Patron: Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo

Married layman († 1918)

Feast: September 4

Giuseppe was born in Treviso, Italy, but his family moved several times during his childhood due to his father’s occupation. Giuseppe studied jurisprudence in college, but rather than pursuing a legal career, he decided to become an economics professor.

Ten years after graduation, he married Maria Schiratti. He and Maria were unlike in many ways. While he was thoughtful and introspective, she was outgoing and practical. But they both placed God at the center of their marriage and lovingly handed on their Catholic faith to their seven children. Giuseppe prayed the rosary daily and keenly felt the importance of abandoning oneself to divine providence.

In 19th-century Italy, there was fierce debate—and ­often violence—between proponents of capitalism and ­proponents of socialism. As an economics professor at various Italian universities, Giuseppe pointed out the dangers of both systems. He was also careful to explain that a proper understanding of economics must respect religious values. His thinking influenced the thought and writings of Popes Leo XIII and Pius X, particularly Leo XIII’s famous encyclical Rerum Novarum. Giuseppe was a supporter of social reform and labor unions, and he was personally active in lay movements such as Catholic Action. A lifelong devotee of the Blessed Mother, Giuseppe died on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.