BLESSED GIUSEPPE PUGLISI

Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi was born on 15 September, 1937, in the neighbourhood of Brancaccio, in . His parents were Carmel Puglisi, a shoemaker, and Guiseppa Fana, a dressmaker. He entered the seminary at the age of 16 and was ordained a priest on 2 July, 1960 and was appointed parish priest of a small village called Godrana in the south of Italy. There were only about a hundred people living in the village, but it had a very high murder rate. Because of a passionate rivalry between two gangs, there had been fifteen murders in the village in the few years just before his arrival. Father Pino prayed and started to go from house to house in the village, reading the with families. His theme was forgiveness. He formed neighbourhood groups in which people would get together-initially once a month, but then as it became popular, fortnightly. Things in the village began to change. A woman, whose son had been murdered, told the priest that she knew she must forgive the mother of the murderer. After a great deal of prayer, and negotiation by the priest, the two women met. They spoke and prayed together. They were eventually able to establish a bond of friendship. Gradually, the whole atmosphere in the village began to change. The longstanding hatreds and rivalries slowly crumbled. Father Pino used to say: “Peace is like bread-it has to be shared in order to be savoured.”

After some years in Godrana, he was sent to a much bigger parish, a town with 8,000 people, San Gaetano. Here, everything seemed to be hopeless and run-down. The old church was extremely small-only just over 100 people could be fitted in at any one time and it was in poor condition-it had a leaking roof. There was much corruption among the local officials, and a huge and sinister Mafia presence. Organised crime seemed to be everywhere. Young people were offered cheap goods-motorbikes, even cars-that they knew to be stolen. Anyone who tried to organise some local community initiative-caring for the needy or raising funds for charity-could expect to get their home vandalised and their children threatened.

Father Pino opposed the Mafia, and showed people that they must conquer fear with courage and love. For years, Mafia bosses gave money to the church and insisted that their “men of honour” headed up parish processions. Father Pino refused the money and banned the men from leading the processions. He taught the children not to accept stolen goods and refused to join in the general acceptance of the paying of bribes for necessary local improvements in basic things like sewage and road works. He spoke openly against such corruption and the brutal thuggery used as a method of controlling anyone who opposed the Mafia gangs. People began to discover that they could trust Father Pino. He opened a shelter for underprivileged children. In addition to his work in the parish, he also taught in a local high school. He had a good influence on the local people. They began to feel confident about rejecting offers from the Mafia, and instead, to form good friendships among themselves based on trust. The public services were affected too: it wasn’t normal to have to bribe people anymore. It became possible to get sewage problems fixed and roadworks done.

However, there was a price to be paid. Father Pino knew what had happened to others who had opposed the Mafia. Homes had been burned and people had been beaten, with death threats made. The parish was a busy one, with plenty for the priest to do. On his 56th birthday in September 1993, Father Pino officiated at two weddings, and also met some parents to plan baptism arrangements for their children. Then there was a little party with friends to celebrate his birthday. Finally, he drove home. It was just before 8.30 pm. Two men stopped him as he got out of his car. One whipped out a gun with a silencer on it, held it to Father Pino’s head and shot him at point-blank range.

The murder shocked the town. Huge crowds attended his funeral. There was an outcry against the Mafia. Father Pino was hailed as a martyr. When the two murderers were arrested, one of them admitted his guilt and described Father Pino’s last moments. The priest, he said, knew what was going to happen and told the men: “I’ve been expecting you.” His courage had changed people’s ideas about themselves. He had known the risks he was taking, but had gone ahead and resisted evil, and taught firmly about not giving in to bullying, and not accepting theft and bribery. He had given ordinary families a sense of their own dignity and worth. The evil grip of the Mafia could be broken-but it needed courage to speak the truth, and to live the truth, day after day.

Some quotes from Father Pino are: ‘No man is far from the Lord.” “He knocks and stays by the door. When the heart is ready, then He will open it.” “Love for God purifies and frees us.”

In 2012, Father Pino was officially declared to be a Martyr, honoured by the , and he was beatified on 25 May, 2013. The Mass was attended by about 50,000 people. His feast day is 21 October.