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Luigi Giovanni Orione was an Italian priest who was active in answering the social needs of his nation as it faced the social upheavals of the late 19th century. In1899, Orione started to gather a group of priests and clerics that were to become Piccola Opera della Divina Providenza (Little Work of Divine Providence). In 1903 the group received the full authorization of the bishop as a religious congregation called the Sons of Divine Providence. In 1908 Orione went to Messina, Sicily, and Reggio Calabria, both of which had been devastated by earthquakes. He dedicated three years to help those in need, most especially the caring of orphans. In 1915 he went to Marsica when that region had a similarly devastating earthquake. That same year he founded the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity. At the end of World War I, Orione began to expand his work. He founded schools, farming colonies, charity organizations and nursing homes, always with a special emphasis on helping orphans and the poor. Over the next two decades, he started foundations throughout Italy and the Americas. In 1931, he founded the Shrine of the Madonna della Guardia in Tortona, which to this day is the principal church in the world for the Orionine order, a religious institute of men. He has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. 			 
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The Vatican celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Saint Luigi Orione with a joint stamp issue with Italy, Argentina, and the Sovereign Order of Malta. The €2,40 stamp image chosen for the philatelic issue is a painting by Spanish painter Rant Berzosa that depicts through symbols the birth and charisma of the Saint from Tortona. The rose, the first symbol, reminds us of a sign the Virgin Mary wished to give to his birthplace, Pontecurone. The month before his birth, which took place on 23 June 1872, as a sign of her devotion, the mother of the future Saint brought and placed a rose before the image of Our Lady of the Rosary, but the rose did not wilt with the passing of the days, unlike the flowers brought by others. On the other side, a double symbol is featured, one represented by Christ holding with his left hand the Vatican Basilica close to his heart, while from his right hand - a symbol of God's action - the tears and blood of the poor issue forth that kindled the sacred fire of charity in the Saint's life and works.

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