Giovanni Ferro was born on 13 November 1901 to the
shoemaker Giovanni Battista Ferro and Carlotta Borio. He was
baptized on 24 November in the local parish church. His priest cousin Tagliaferri served as a model for Ferro in his childhood as did the local parish priest and the
nun Matilde. Ferro soon came to the decision to enter the
priesthood and commenced his studies under the
Somascan order on 5 August 1912, while he obtained a
licentiate in 1917 in
Milan after he had completed his high school education. On 7 October 1919 he commenced his
novitiate with the order, which ended on 8 October 1920 at Sant'Alessio all'Aventino in
Rome where he made his
initial profession. The
novice master Luigi Zambarelli held Ferro in high esteem and noted that he was "a little saint". Ferro made his solemn profession into the order on 14 March 1924 at the Santa Maria Maddalena parish church in
Genoa. On 11 April 1925 he received his
ordination to the priesthood in
Chiavari from the local bishop Amedeo Casabona. In 1925 he obtained excellent grades while at the
Pontifical Gregorian University and obtained his licentiate in
philosophical studies. He later received his
doctorate cum laude in
theological studies in
Turin on 27 May 1931. In 1931 he was made the
rector for the Collegio Trevisio in
Casale Monferrato, until 1938 when he was transferred to become the rector for the Collegio Gallio in
Como. During
World War II he helped those in need and tended to the poor and displaced. Ferro also risked himself in hiding the
Jew Roberto Furcht from the
S.S. and offered him free lodging. Following
Benito Mussolini's
death he kept hidden the late dictator's son
Vittorio and the son-in-law of the late dictator's brother
Arnaldo. The pair remained with Ferro until 12 November 1945 and had lodged with him since that April in fear of retribution and
partisan attacks. On 1 October 1945 he was transferred to Genoa as the pastor for the Santa Maria Maddalena parish where he remained until 1950. In the meantime on 18 August 1948 he was elected as the
provincial superior for the
Liguria region of his order and held that position until his episcopal appointment. Ferro was appointed in 1950 as the
Archbishop of Reggio Calabria in addition to being named as the
Bishop of Bova. He received his
episcopal consecration from
Giuseppe Siri in the
Genoa Cathedral on 29 October 1950 before being enthroned in his new archdiocese on 2 December and then in
Bova on 8 December. In his see he constructed new parishes and in 1951 and 1953 tended to the victims of rampant
floods, opening his
episcopal residence to the victims. Ferro likewise oversaw the repair of the Sacramento chapel in the archdiocesan cathedral and helped in the construction of new schools and
sporting facilities. From 1963 until 1965 he attended all sessions of the
Second Vatican Council and sought to institute a similar program of renewal in his archdiocese following the council's closure. In 1962 he issued his pastoral letter
Ut Unum sint.
Pope John XXIII named him as an
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne. He served consecutive terms from 1950 until 1977 as the President of the Calabrian Episcopal Conference. Ferro at one point led a diocesan pilgrimage to Rome to visit
Pope Paul VI and another to
Jerusalem. In 1968 he presided over another pilgrimage designed to follow in the footsteps of
Saint Peter and
Saint Paul and he took this time to visit the
Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras. In 1971 the
President Giuseppe Saragat awarded him with a silver chalice dating back to the 1700s in recognition for all Ferro had done in his archdiocese and as a token of his esteem. In 1950 he made his first pastoral visit and announced his second on 30 December 1958. He announced the third on 7 March 1965 and the final one on 2 December 1972. On 13 November 1976 he forwarded his letter of resignation to the pope who approved it on 14 June 1977; it was at 12:00 pm on 14 June that he announced that his resignation had been accepted. The
municipal council in Reggio Calabria made him a citizen on 11 August in a unanimous decision in recognition and praise for Ferro's works and for his efforts in the archdiocese. His last
Mass and departure was celebrated on 27 August in which he was hoisted up on a chair and carried at the celebration's conclusion on the shoulders of some men. He left for Rome where he lived at Sant'Alessio all'Aventino and later returned to Reggio Calabria on 11 November 1978.
Pope John Paul II visited Ferro twice, in 1984 and 1988. Ferro suffered from disease in the 1980s that took its toll on his health and led to his death during the morning on 18 April 1992 which happened to be
Holy Saturday. His remains were interred in the side chapel in the archdiocesan cathedral where there was later installed a bronze monument dedicated to him. ==Beatification process==