Consolata Missionary Institute Official Bulletin For the Acts of the General Council 151151 DecemberDecember 20152015

Summary Blessed Irene Stefani our Protector for 2016 . . . 02 2015 Christmas Message from Father General . . . 11 Elderly Missionaries in Renewal ...... 14 Letter from the General Council to the Missionaries in Asia . 24 Acts from the Generalate ...... 31 2016 Jubilees ...... 36 Qui Nos Praecesserunt: - Bro. Francesco Guglielmin Mugion . . . 39 - Fr. Paul Stefanowich ...... 43 - Fr. Giuseppe Villa ...... 46 - Fr. José Oscar Aguilar ...... 51 - Fr. Giuseppe Fusaroli ...... 54 - Bro. Roberto Zanchettin ...... 57 - Fr. Alessandro Busnello ...... 61 - Fr. Franco Cellana ...... 65

Editor: Fr. Tobias de Oliveira, IMC Secretary General Viale delle Mura Aurelie, 11 00165 Roma

1 PROTECTOR FOR 2016

WITH BLESSED SISTER IRENE NYAATHA: FACE OF OUR MOTHER CONSOLATA, ICON OF MERCY!

2 Roma – Nepi, 08.12.2015 Feast of the , Beginning of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy!

Very Dear Consolata Missionaries: Sisters, Fathers and Brothers, During this new year dedicated to mercy we want to continue praying and look at Blessed Irene as our annual protector. Papa Francesco presenting the Jubilee year of Mercy explained: «A question is present in the heart of many people: why a Jubilee of Mercy today? Simply because the Church, in this time of great changes, is called upon to offer in a more evident way the signs of the presence and closeness of God. This is not the time for distraction, but rather to remain vigilant and to awaken in us the ability to look to the essentials. It is the time for the Church to rediscover the meaning of the mission that the Lord entrusted to it on the day of Easter: to be a sign and instrument of the Father’s mercy (cfr. John 20, 21-23). It is for this that the Holy Year will have to keep alive the desire to grasp the many signs of the tenderness that God offers to the whole world and especially to those who are suffering, who are alone and abandoned, without the hope of being forgiven and feel loved by the Father. A Holy Year to feel strong within us the joy of being found by Jesus, who as the Good Shepherd has come looking for us because we were lost. A Jubilee to feel the warmth of his love when he places us upon his shoulders to bring us back to the Father’s house. A Year in which we may be touched by the Lord Jesus and be transformed by his mercy, so that we too may become witnesses of mercy. That is the reasons for the Jubilee: because this is the time of mercy. It is the favourable time to heal the wounds, to never tire of meeting those who are waiting to see and touch the signs of the closeness of God, to offer to all, to all, the way of forgiveness and reconciliation. May the Mother of Divine Mercy open our eyes to understand the commitment to which we have been called and obtain for us the grace of living this Jubilee of Mercy with a faithful and fruitful witness.» (Homily of Francesco during the First Vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday, in St. Peter’s Basilica, on the occasion of the delivery and reading of the official announcement «Misericordiae vultus», Rome 11.04.2015). We cannot find more beautiful and important words than these to grasp the great bond between mercy and Irene, “mother all mercy.” We want to go to school to learn mercy precisely from Irene, we ask her to guide us to Jesus to experience mercy.

3 1. Blessed Irene, icon of Mercy Blessed Irene Stefani is characterized precisely by her mercy. It is the name that without her knowledge was given her by the people of Gikondi: Nyaatha, and she is still called so. It was made evident at the . A word that shows the «mother all mercy», the «personified mercy». This is how Mons. Gatimo, Bishop of Nyeri, explained it. For Mons. Nicodemus Kirima, his successor, Nyaatha «is more than a name, it is a program. A project of a life, fully and intensively experienced». About Sister Irene he adds: «This Consolata Missionary was full of goodness, loveliness, meekness and gentleness, as were Christ and the Blessed Mary. Thus she became a woman, a mother and a person of merciful love». Her charity came from far away. Soon after her religious profession done in the presence of Allamano on January 29 1914, she wrote in her notebook her life program: «Only Jesus. All with Jesus. Nothing from me. All of Jesus. Nothing of me. All for Jesus. Nothing for me. I shall love charity more than myself». It is the proclamation for us of how the living love of Jesus and of brothers and sisters could weld in unity and become flesh in our life to the point of transforming it. The doctors of the military hospital in Dar-es-Salaam said with admiration: «She is not just a woman, she is an angel» and the people of Gikondi confirm it: «She was mware mwendi ando, the Sister who loves everybody». «Visiting the sick, the poor, baptizing the sick and curing them was her daily activity. In fact she used to travel long distances, up and down steep trails, looking for these poor people. She did not take even a minute of rest because she was completely dedicated to these people» (a testimony by Macharia from Gichuru). In fact, Sister Irene could not stop when faced with the needs of others: an inner impulse was urging her on to go, run, whether in warm or cold weather, in good weather or rain, in physical strength or in tiredness or sickness, without minding sacrifices or obstacles, insults or denials, as long as she could help the people in need. Nothing could hold her uFr. People remember her «quick as a metal spring», in order to go everywhere and even far away, speedily, and to all, almost always running. They comment: «it was evident that it was love that urged her on». At the time of her death they said: «It was not illness that killed her, but love». The people of Gikondi continued to consider her: «a good mother who loved everybody», «secretary of the poor people», «angel of charity». It is like a repeated litany that summarizes the living memory of her, her characteristics, her heart, and the realization of her belief that a missionary «has a heart to love with, and hands to help with» and she must do so with feelings of mercy, goodness, humility, meekness and patience.

4 Her being mother of mercy was also her inspiring principle of her missionary methodology and this can be so also for us today in a world that is in need of tenderness and closeness. «Whenever she saw a person suffering, she was taken by compassion and cried, trying to do all she could to help him. Many people came to the mission to confide to her their sufferings because she was the mother of all» (Bernard Mugambi). Mercy and consolation were the way used by her to bring Jesus and witness his Gospel. It is known to all as she had at heart the catechesis, the Christian teaching and especially the administration of baptism, which she regarded as the greatest gift that a missionary can give. «When a child was born she used to go and congratulate the family or assist the woman herself. I remember that when Marta was in travail for our twins she assisted her and when they were born she held them happily in her arms saying: “Let us thank the Lord who has chosen me to see these creatures who will be baptized and become children of God”» (Martino Wang’Ondu). Sister Irene consoled with her presence, she healed the sick, and she looked for the poor, always close to those who wept, giving herself to God as a pleasing sacrifice. «She shared the joys, the life and sufferings of the people» (Martino Wang’Ondu) and she knew their language. «She was very good, praying God a lot, loving her neighbour; she was a woman of sacrifice as she walked on foot the whole day long, coming home in the evening. She did not despise anybody, but loved everybody» (Pancrazio Gathirwa). She was a strong woman, gentle at the same time. Several witnesses remember her as strong, generous, steady, fearless and determined, zealous in her work. She was meek, she walked briskly to not waste time, affable when she spoke with people, constantly ready to make people share in the greatest good, the eternal salvation, she was a great evangelizer, a true missionary as Blessed Joseph Allamano wants us to be: and missionaries, combining the most intimate communion with God with the most intense apostolic activity, with affable mercy. Sister Irene is a model also in the supreme moment of life when death approaches and the return to the Father’s house is near. Dying for love, like Jesus, is her teaching for us. A witness remembers: «I, Pancrazio Gathirwa, knew well Sr. Irene Stefani in the mission of Gikondi during the years 1920-1930. When she came to us I was here and when she died I was still here: that is, we have been with her until she passed away. She got her mortal sickness in the village Mbari ya Ndumbe, here in Gikondi, where she had gone to assist Julius Ngari, sick of plague».

5 She assisted him with love, that teacher who had given her serious problems in the school and she died plagued by his own illness, turning her death in an act of love like Jesus. She was only 39 years old. The event of the Beatification of Sr. Irene Stefani was a moment of special grace for all the Consolata family! Let us welcome with both hands this grace which through Sister Irene is bestowed upon each of us, wanting to transform in joy our personal and community life, regenerating us for the mission of proclamation and consolation, involving us in the stream of God’s Mercy. Yes, our sister Nyaatha calls us to plunge with her in the flow of the strong and tender love of God, letting him lead us on. Let us then look at Irene with the eyes of the heart; let the inner eye penetrates, through the door that she has opened for us, in the heart of God and allow, through her, God’s mercy come to us, console us and make us people of mercy. 2. Blessed Irene, authentic daughter of Allamano We also stress that Irene is the clear expression of the spirit of Blessed Joseph Allamano, a Consolata Missionary fully realized, a sign of the vision and the missionary method left to us by our Founder. Blessed Irene, Nyaatha, icon of mercy, is a gift of Consolata and of the Founder to his sons and daughters. «We must really live, breathe, lose ourselves in God. My eyes are always on the Lord. I really like this sentence and you have to remember it. We always keep our eyes turned on God, as his eyes are constantly turned on us», Allamano used to say (cfr. VS 554). It is a recommendation that resonates particularly significant for us in this year of mercy. Concisely the Founder reaffirmed to our missionaries to have «an open heart towards our brothers», a «big and generous heart», « magnanimous to every human misery», «full of love for God» (Conferenze alle Missionarie, I, 86, 156; II, 143-144). He exhorted us to be «Missionaries of goodness», who act with tenderness, patience, humility, meekness, loveliness, «without harshness», but with «the greatest sweetness», «graciously and with charity». Among the exhortations to those departing for the Mission, he recommended always «meekness», the only virtue about which Jesus says specifically to imitate him. Blessed Allamano considered it essential for the preacher of the Gospel. He invited us to make a purpose to be renewed every day. The testimonies stressed that meekness was in Allamano a life reality found in his behaviour toward every person and in his various activities. As formator in the seminary he is remembered by the seminarians as: «good mother», «consoling angel». He was able to obtain everything by persuasion, affability, and sweetness. «At

6 a suitable time he could do even a severe correction, but he always ended it with a benevolent word, all his own, which consoled» (Mons. Nepote). At the Consolata Shrine he paid attention to the religious who had been assigned to the Shrine and to the elderly priests. Whenever he did not see them, he went to visit them in their room, carrying food to them, tidying their room, «acting as their nurse and doing for them a bit of everything». He had the same attitude with the missionaries and even in a more developed way because the good of the people is one of the reasons for the Foundation of the Institutes. «He was concerned about the minimum material and spiritual needs of everyone. He was greatly concerned about the relatives of the members of the Institute, especially their mothers. And when he felt some need, without being asked, he would come to their assistance with great generosity» (G. Barlassina). When the missionary family grew larger, he was able to equally follow each member personally, even from a distance, overcoming the physical distance through correspondence. He was informed of their successes, needs, weariness, disappointment, health and diseases. This why he also prescribed the keeping of diaries to be aware of the missionary activities and the personal situations. The secret of his fatherhood is in knowing how to be patient, to sympathize, to reprimand with sweetness, having a personal contact, proposing ideals to live up to the mission. He recommended to the superiors to have a lot of patience and to encourage, console, support, always correcting with great charity. This approach focused on relationships with the other is also reflected in the missionary activity, set on the presence and attention to people with direct relationships of interest, help, and encouragement. Allamano used to take the occasion of the departure for the mission to recommend: «spread the fragrance of love»; «make the people happy», because «we want to bring consolation». Very dear missionaries, let us be guided by our Saints of mercy. Let us live what they have transmitted to us; they have fully experienced friendship with Jesus the Lord, the merciful teacher. God’s mercy «is not an abstract idea, but a reality whereby He reveals his love like that of a father and a mother who are moved, up from the depths of the bowels, for her child. It is really the case to say that is a “visceral” love. It comes from within as a deep, natural feeling, made of tenderness and compassion, forbearance and forgiveness ». (FRANCESCO, Misericordiae Vultus, Bolla di indizione del Giubileo Straordinario della Misericordia, Roma, 11 aprile 2015, n. 6).

7 It is this kind of love we see dwelling and acting in Sr. Irene, that has motivated Allamano to found our Missionary Institutes. It is this kind of love that we all need and it is this kind of love to which we want to open our heart so that it may be filled! 3. Blessed Irene and the miracle of Nipepe The miracle that led to the beatification happened in Nipepe, in Mozambique, in 1989, in full civil war, when, during a guerrilla attack to the place where they held a training course for catechists, Irene saved about 270 people from death. In those dramatic days of the attack, the parish priest of the Mission, Father Giuseppe Frizzi, Consolata missionary, prayed sr. Irene together with catechists, using a form of prayer typical of the spirituality of the people Macua, the Makeya, asking hopefully that she would save the catechists themselves and their families. And Irene intervened, multiplying the water of the baptismal font of the church to quench the people, protecting all from the violence of the war. The miracle, or rather, the miracles that occurred in Nipepe by the intercession of Sister Irene deserve a serious and in-depth reflection. What messages does Irene leave for us through these events? What paths do they show us? What do the facts of Nipepe tell us about our missionary journey and our style of mission? What sense do these events of grace have for the Institutes and for the Church? These events are loaded with blessings for us, and we would like to keep our eyes and hearts open in front of these gifts of God! Thinking about what happened in Nipepe on January 1989, already at first glance a number of facts strikes us in a special way and we want to share them with you in simplicity. 1. The characters involved in the events: Sr. Irene Stefani (MC), Fr. Giuseppe Frizzi (IMC) and catechists. They represent the three hearthstones of the Consolata family: the male and female missionaries, and the lay/animators/catechists, as it was also at the beginning of our mission in , for example, at the time of Sr. Irene in Gikondi. The fledgling missionary methodology of the Consolata family included these three indisputable elements, in synergy, communion, and complementarity. We believe that by no accident sr. Irene chooses to respond to the invocation of one of her brothers, a Consolata Missionary, and the catechists, thus completing the triad. And this has a lot to say to us even today. 2. The circumstances: the war had “deprived” the missionaries of many things, but not of their identity, instead seemed to have been strengthened in those difficult and dramatic circumstances, when they did not have economic means but lived the core of the missionary Consolata family like presence/witness of

8 consolation in humility, in poverty, in closeness to the people, in the sharing of everything, in prayer and in communion. 3. The baptismal water: with all that baptism meant for Irene and it means for us today, as an eminently Christological sign, as a call to the sources of our charisma ad gentes, to dive into and to “be immersed” in Christ, to quench the thirst of those who still do not know him. 4. The baptismal font: fragile trunk, even with cracks and currently also with holes, in short, a bit like all of us, humans, somewhat like Irene, fragile creature, fragile clay pot in which inhabits the water of Life. But also a trunk worked, carved and painted with symbols drawn not only from the classical Christian tradition but also from the “tradition” that the Spirit has shaped in the Macua soul. Again, somewhat like Irene and ourselves, called to be inhabited by Christ, living, joyous and inexhaustible water, but also to allow to be worked on, sculpted and coloured by the action of the Spirit present in the peoples that welcome us. 5. The invocation through the Makeya. Irene chooses to answer a prayerful invocation made through a typical expression of a religious tradition “different” from the Western one. It is amazing to see how, after a process of reflection and serious study that has met resistance, blocks etc., now the Makeya has landed in a Vatican theological commission that has approved the miracle obtained through Makeya itself. What does Irene want to tell us, coming to the invocation made through the Makeya and bringing the Makeya into the Vatican, that is, to the examination and confirmation of the universal Church? What does all this have to say about our missionary methodology, the paths of enculturated evangelization, of the intercultural dimension, of the contact with the roots of an individual and people, of a serious, deepened and courageous reflection “in the field” that should characterize our being Consolata missionaries ad gentes? These are just some of the items that at first glance emerge from the facts of Nipepe. And who knows how many others could emerge in reflection, prayer, sharing and deepening! We sincerely hope that the beatification of Irene and the facts of Nipepe constitute an incentive for us to reflection and joint missionary action, in the sign of mercy and consolation. We want to accept the Grace that this Beatification brings with it and answer the call inherent in the facts of Nipepe. Irene has spoken! God has spoken to us through her. Now it is up to us to receive and make fruitful the Word that we have been given.

9 QUESTIONS FOR OUR REFLECTION AND PRAYER 1. What is mercy for me? Have I experienced God’s mercy? 2. Do I practice it with the others? Have I received it from other people? How? 3. Reading the Gospel, what are the features of Jesus’ mercy that strike me? 4. Do I feel and see mercy in my community and in the Institute? By what signs? 5. How is mercy expressed in our missionary methodology, today? PROPOSALS FOR A WAY FORWARD 1. Where possible, to celebrate together MC-IMC-LMC the liturgical feast of Sr. Irene, preferably preceded by a triduum 2. The Regional Governments should organise initiatives and reflection times, possibly together, about Blessed Irene and her message for the present time 3. During this Year of Mercy we propose Blessed Irene, icon of Mercy, to our people 4. Other initiatives and proposals inspired by Blessed Irene and mercy that can help the spiritual and brotherly progress of this jubilee year.

Prayer to Blessed Irene Blessed Irene, Nyaatha, our sister, Intercede for us the gift of Mercy!

Fr. Stefano Camerlengo, IMC Sr. Simona Brambilla, MC Padre Generale Madre Generale

10 MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL FOR CHRISTMAS 2015

BELIEVING COMMITS US!

“The Holy Child gave us an important lesson by winning the three human lusts: pleasures, riches, honours, teaching us also how to overcome them. Born so poor, the Lord has canonized poverty!” Blessed

Very dear missionaries, friends and relatives, An authentic Christmas! The first Christmas was not celebrated in temples, synagogues and even less in the churches which at that time did not even exist. No religious community, then, gathered around to celebrate a ritual; no priest lit candles and held sermons. No human society interrupted its rhythm of daily work; no one had the idea of decorating the streets, hanging lights, preparing special meals. No one lost even a moment to gather the family and exchange gifts. The night was quiet and dark. According to tradition, a young couple had moved to a town in Galilee, to a small village near Jerusalem, to trivial bureaucratic reasons. It is said that Caesar Augustus had ordered that they should be enrolled and therefore all were required to be enrolled, each in his home town. They were not, the two characters of note. He a carpenter, she a girl like any other. They guarded in their heart, probably with some embarrassment, the secret of the upcoming birth of a child. A thousand questions, no response humanly understandable. Joseph and Mary were certainly a couple without much money. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the city of his ancestors, they found no place in the inn. They were shown the door, although Mary was not only pregnant, but near to give birth. When the labour pains began some charitable person showed them the way to a stable. So when a little later came into the world the child could be wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in the manger of the animals. Nobody was concerned about the incident. Only some shepherds, people considered impure by the mentality of the time, came surprised to the barn. It is said that they had heard a message from Heaven. An angel, it is said, had announced to them “a great joy, which shall be for all people.” The sign of the realization of this promise would have been, as the messenger would have said, “a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” For us, “shrewd” men of the third millennium, this story should appear rather absurd, nothing more than a legend like so many others. Instead, for two thousand years, we, amazed, insist on remembering that moment, the birth in many ways unremarkable, ordinary, and trivial in its frame of misery and weakness.

11 Our attachment to the mystery of Christmas has definitely reasons that historians, sociologists and psychologists would know very well how to explain. Christmas invites us to grasp the revolutionary impact of a message announcing peace from a position of total disarmament and one that enhances poverty rather than wealth and success, the renunciation of all pomp and violence rather than a sterile protagonist role or a fundamentalist faith all aimed to establishing itself, socially and religiously. Mary, the girl who was found involved in spite of herself in that adventure, was certainly the most authentic interpreter of that event so far and so present. She understood that if there is a God who becomes man, he cannot be the God of those who bask in their fullness, of those who do not do too many qualms overwhelming the others and of those who are slaves of their own pride. The God of Mary, the God of Christmas, is the one who “has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly, he has filled the hungry with good things and has sent the rich away empty”. Therefore, his “sign” is not a show of power, but simply and surprisingly “a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” It is necessary to turn the eyes of our heart to God to learn how to believe, to hope and to love. Christmas reminds us, after all, three basic things. First is the feast of him who has good will and thus tends to build around him the common good because he is guided by the values of peace, solidarity and mercy. I recall here the words of Augustine, who said that “The City of Man and the City of God fight each other within the single man because the borders that divide the City of Man from the City of God are inside the heart and the consciousness of men.” Let us be educated by Christmas to win selfishness and divisions. Second is that Christmas is also the time to understand how necessary it is to serve, be united and then live the dimension of the free gift, especially for those who live the festive season in precarious conditions and in poverty. Finally, the strength that can lift us out from the crisis, the fear and every difficulty, is recognising ourselves, first of all, to be in need of God and that we have within us an invincible and eternal principle: his presence in history, his reaching out to us to lift us up again for the full encounter with his love. And on this Christmas, everything has the taste of an open heart that welcomes and freely gives itself with joy. Merry Christmas! "We commit ourselves to come down… Not to rearrange the world, not to do it again according to our measures, but to love it; to love even what we cannot accept, even that which is not lovable, because behind every face and in every heart there is, along with a great thirst for love,

12 the face and the heart of love. We are committed because we believe in love, the only certainty that is second to none, the only one that is enough to make us committed for eve " (Don Primo Mazzolari)

Merry Christmas, many best wishes, much faith, much commitment! Courage and ahead in Domino!

Fr. Stefano Camerlengo, IMC Father General

13 ELDERLY MISSIONARIES IN RENEWAL

In September 2015, about twenty of our elderly confreres gathered in Rome for a time of renewal. The Superior General accompanied them with a welcome message in which invited them to be prepared for the course considering it a time of grace and a reflection on Continuing Education from which no missionary, including the elderly, may feel exempt. We present here the text of these two interventions:

I – A brotherly message to our Elderly Missionaries «Teach us to number our days that we may gain wisdom of heart» (Psalm 90, 12)

Very dear missionaries, May peace and the strength of the Lord be always with you! With joy and brotherhood I want to welcome you in this house that is your home, for this course of Ongoing Formation. I take this opportunity to thank each of you for his life, for the witness to the love for the Institute and the mission, for the presence in this course. My thanks also go to those who have worked hard and strived to ensure the success of the course and be a true moment of grace. In particular I think of the missionaries: father Dietrich Pendawazima, Vice General Superior, responsible on behalf of the DG, father Ronco Giuseppe, responsible of the Secretariat for the Mission, great head

14 and heart of the Course, father Renzo Marcolongo, superior of the community of the Casa Generalizia: welcome, serenity and wisdom of the Course. I wish to share with you, in a brotherly spirit, some thoughts that, I hope, may guide your days. Mark 6, 30-32. The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” It was, in fact, a great crowd that was coming and going, and they had not even time to eat. They went away in the boat to a deserted place apart. We all know this Gospel episode. The scene is familiar. Jesus invites us to slow down our pace of work. Why not ask ourselves this question today and take our time to decide how and when to follow this advice? We have our habits, our way of integrating into the life periods of rest and recreation. We have adopted a rhythm of daily prayer, retreats and annual spiritual exercises; we reserve periods of regular vacations, we read books and watch movies, do sport and take time for a walk and other distractions. All these activities contribute to a balanced missionary life. But it is also possible that we may have resistances for our interior renewal, a deep examination of our lives, a serious sabbatical period. This initiative is not a luxury. Indeed, those who have never felt the need to “retire to rest a bit”, should ask themselves whether they may have a problem. The X General Chapter stated: “The DC in its work plan, and the Regions in their Conferences, should promote an energetic action of renewal of all missionaries, through ongoing formation, which is not limited to aggiornamento, but to motivate anew the individuals through the study and the assimilation of the charisma, of the spirit of the Founder, the ideals of consecration, communion and mission” (XCG, Fr. 47) And the following XI Chapter insists: “Since the individuals are the first good of the Institute (cf. Const. 30), its inalienable task is attention to every missionary and his renewal, to improve the quality of his physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual life. This task is accomplished through a comprehensive program, which encompasses the being, understanding and acting of the individuals”. The development of the Institute “depends on the renewal of each missionary and on the quality of the community” (n. 92, Fr. 74). Finally the last General Chapter states: “Our formation has as a fundamental criterion the evangelization of peoples, in religious life, according to the spirit of the Founder and our characteristics.” “The process of formation for the mission, although it has privileged times, lasts a lifetime. Our identity and our ideal of Consolata Missionaries, never fully achieved, demand loyalty and ability of walking together, of conversion, of creativity.” (XII CG n. 56, page 24)

Life is a walk! The theme of travel condenses a multiplicity of meanings. It has to do with the meaning of existence, in constant search of the fullness of a life that has not yet been

15 accomplished, like a dream of a happiness that always burns in the heart, even when it seems buried under the rubble. The impulse to travel says that life is not a “status”, but a process; not a stop, but a go; it is more a starting than an arriving. The term “exist”, from Latin, means just go from one place to another, from one situation to another, which means walking. Who does not make life a walk ceases to exist, in the truest and existential sense of the word. Man is by nature a traveller because he needs to find elsewhere his completeness, outside and above him, in the encounter with others and with the Other, the Absolute Creator. All this may seem obvious, in fact today it is not. An exaggerated individualism threatens to kill the traveller making man a vagabond without any aim, but himself, reducing life, which is a walk, to a standstill. An unhappy vagabond who does not know where he comes from and who does not know where to go because all is concentrated on himself; he does no longer have a dream that will take him far, as well outlined by the psychiatrist V. Andreoli: «Focused on the here and now purely corporeal, we killed all the gods and made beauty our only religion. We no longer have dreams, we do not cultivate projects, we cannot stand the silence, and we make noise to overcome loneliness, eradicated from our origins, unable to love, to teach our children and to learn from our fathers. And we are full of fear». It is a reality that challenges us, disciples of Jesus, called to follow One who, leaving his divine status, has made himself a wayfarer for love, to meet us and help us to recover the human dimension that alone we are so incapable to live. But, beyond all creeds, it is a challenge for all those who have the will and the decision to “be and remain human”, in a world where, it seems, there is a desire to destroy “humanity”. Amid the much darkness of our time, a light of hope continues to shine until there are people who, coming out of themselves, continue to travel towards the other, really loving. The salvation for our world so battered lies in this direction. We hope that more and more people who, waking up to the reality and shaking off the sense of indifference and apathy, are determined to pursue it. The hope is that we too may continue to travel with the Spirit of the missionary, travellers like Jesus!

Old age Experts speak of three ways of getting old that vary in their end result. There is a first ideal way which all dream be theirs. These are the people who get old well and everyone is willing to live with them. Their way of being old is declared by all as enviable: these are the elderly who live peaceful, grateful, full of confidence and good feelings, shiny and responsible, without excessive fear of death; they may be suffering, but they do not claim that all should be concerned about them, on the contrary, it is they who show concern for the others. Unfortunately you must not

16 think that this is the norm, not so! It is the dream of many, but it is certainly not the norm. There is a second way, the most common, of aging, which is to suffer the process of aging. Many fail to accept the reality of a life marked by the handicap or the reduction of one’s own ability to work, keep relationships, and survive. They are traumatized by the arrival of their retirement and feel as a terrible threat the idea of the end. They have spent a lifetime working and they never found the time for themselves, to reflect, to rest in peace. Now they are forced to move from a whirlwind of work to a forced inactivity and they fail to accept it. For them retirement is a pain, they do not know what to do, it is a forced and painful rest. They live in constant rebellion or in depression. Attempts of self-harm are not uncommon, especially if the inactivity is combined with loneliness; they are closed in their suffering, they cling to small things that work like drugs or evasion; they become hard, acid, hostile to everything, and everyone is trying to avoid them. There is also a third way of getting old and this is the one of those who deny or refuse the aging process, pretending, if possible, they have not yet arrived at old age. This is the case of those who do not want to believe their aging and therefore hide unto themselves and to others their decay “disguising”, dressing and living as if they were still young. They enjoy compliments and they do not pay due attention to the real meaning of expressions of convenience: «Nobody would think that you are eighty years old! How well you look! You certainly do not show your age!». They believe and for a while feel revved up, but when they their feet touch ground again they are sick and accumulate wounds and frustrations increasingly painful and deeFr. They are people who, unwittingly, cover themselves with ridicule. It would clearly be a mistake to encourage this way of doing, which pretends to ignore or deny one’s own condition. It is far better to accept one’s own reality and try to be challenged in the truth and by the truth, to give ourselves new reasons to live and continue to grow, to accept old age as something new and valuable. Very dear brother, it is good to be confronted by this description of aging and the various ways of facing it. It is good to look inwardly in depth accepting our own situation, an essential condition to continue being happy for our life offered in service.

The mission The Second Vatican Council affirms, without hesitation, that «the Church during its pilgrimage on earth is missionary by its own nature » (Ad Gentes 2). The term “nature” means “essence”. Mission, before being a “task”, is “essence”: It is the most central aspect, the most important characteristic that confers to the Church an identity, a distinctive character. This essence, the decree Ad Gentes continues «derives its origin from the mission of the Son and of the Holy Spirit according to the plan of God the Father» (cf. AG, 2). Mission comes from God because God is love, a love that cannot be confined but that spontaneously expands and is shared. Mission is the essence of God, referring first of all to what God “is” and not to what God “does”. Indirectly, for the Church, mission becomes free impulse, from the inside to the

17 outside, and has as its origin and end the participation in the divine life. Therefore it is not the Church that “has” a mission, but it is the mission that has a Church: God brings about his mission through the action of his spirit, calling the church to share in it. Here is the change of paradigm: the Church stops being “sending to mission” (that is, the one sending) in order to become “missionary” (that is, sent), no longer as “owner”, but as a humble “servant” of the mission. Thus, sharing in the mission of God, being sent to the peoples, it shares in the life of God which is full life, eternal life. Understanding mission not as an activity or historical need, but as free essence of God-love is the first step towards a deep renewal of our life of people consecrated for the mission. It is a matter of transferring mission from the development of the individual or institution to the transparency of an unpretentious testimony, imitating the example of Jesus in his closeness to others and to the poor, communicating life in terms of humanity, compassion and brotherhood without frontiers. Mission is always the same: to announce Jesus Christ to the world! But what is different is its realization, the way and the style of proposing it and sharing it. Perhaps you feel bewildered and overcome by these changes, the new is always unsettling; do not fear: entrust yourself unto the Lord and the Consolata, trust in Him and keep on walking as a pilgrim and servant of the Kingdom.

Conclusion Life even in its final season can continue to be fruitful and the elderly can and must feel, like the psalmist, an old man who has gone through many struggles and endless contradictions, whose body has become resilient and hard like a the trunk of a cedar or palm, but inside it still feels «thriving and lush», still capable of «flourishing in the courts of our God», always ready to «announce how upright is the Lord» (Psalm 92, 14-16). Brotherly wishes and may the Consolata guide your steps on the paths of life. Have a good course, courage and ahead in Domino!

Questions for a deeper study How do I feel at this stage of my life: in relation to myself, my Institute and my mission? Which is the evangelical icon, at this stage of maturity that I consider closer to my missionary life? What page of the Gospel better reflects my being and my life? At the level of consecrated life, how I live my consecration to the mission? (Joys, hopes, difficulties, fragility ...) What would I like to tell my Institute after so much life given in service to the mission? Am I willing to write, taking advantage of this moment of ongoing formation, the story of my missionary life, to help my personal reflection and also the Institute?!!!! Suggest other aspects, important for me, which I wish to share with others on this journey...

18 What do you think and how do you view the present journey of the Institute? Do you look to the future with confidence or with concern? Why?

To reflect and pray! Let us walk… let's set out! Give us, Lord, the courage to leave the moorings of our securities, our habits so as to begin to set out. We have nothing to fear, Lord: we will lower the nets on Your Word. So far the efforts have been in vain, just relying on our own strength. Call us to set out and follow Your footsteps. Footprints sometimes tired, but safe. Quiet our hearts, that Your Word may come and enlighten our steps. Give us more faith, God, and the courage to dare even when everything around us slows down the impulses of the proclamation. We ask you, Lord, for your help so that the Church may always be at sea and not in the calm waters that give a feeling of death. Thank you for having chosen us and giving us confidence. Send again, Lord, men and women who give up everything to get in the way to unknown lands. Many shed their blood on the steps of good news. We pray for them, Lord. You also give us the same courage. Lord, companion of our journey, put in us the impatience to stretch our steps and reach the lonely walker of the road. Get us back on the road, when our feet are tired and you find us disappointed by the wayside for not having caught any fish. Do continue being our Good Samaritan, pouring on us the oil of hope. In our being pilgrims, still fill our bags with the Bread for the journey and the Wine of the saved ones. Accompany the steps of the “fishers of men” who have chosen to share the hard bread of the poor of the Earth. Finally, Lord our God, make us announcers of peace where everything speaks of revenge and hatred, of war and violence. Let our lives speak, sure that nothing is impossible with you and for you.

“Prayer is the breath of faith”, “the dialogue of the soul with God. We all know simple and humble people, but with a very strong faith that really move mountains. Take, for example, the mums and dads who face very heavy situations. Consider also some sick people, who may also be in very bad health, nevertheless they transmit serenity to those who visit them. These people because of their faith do not boast for what they do, on the contrary, as Jesus asks us in the Gospel, they say: “We are useless servants. We have done what was expected from us”. Many are the people in our midst who have such faith!” (Pope Francesco at the Angelus)

Courage and ahead in Domino! Have a good formation!

19 II – ONGOING FORMATION, A NEED OF OUR TIME In the process of acceleration of history of which we were and still are spectators and players, one of the phenomena, which have emerged and have established themselves, was the need of ongoing formation. Today it is normal and fairly frequent, after the first formation, feeling unable to meet the new expectations and therefore unprepared or even useless. This was discovered before us by the secular professionals (doctors, engineers, technicians, and teachers) and the firms that have allocated resources and time to renew their staff. After the Council (GS5) even men of the Church have felt the need to take up formation and extend it over time, adding more time to the years planned those for basic formation. This need was recognized and encoded in various ways. General Chapters of religious institutes and dioceses have taken decisions on this matter, initially these were of a maximalist approach, with unattainable prospects; later on, once they made the experience of their non- viability, they turned to more feasible ones. The Magisterium of the Church has been affected by these new perspectives bringing it to give some indications. I would like to mention here the paragraphs of the apostolic exhortation Consecrated Life (1996), Pastores Dabo Vobis (1992) and the directives issued in 1990 by the Congregation for the Education of consecrated life regarding formation in religious institutes. FOR US MISSIONARIES We missionaries ad gentes in the last few decades have been involved in this movement of society: “The movement of history itself becomes so fast that it can hardly be followed by single men. One becomes the fate of human society or without diversifying more into many separate stories. So the human race moves from a rather static conception of the order of things to a more dynamic and evolutionary concept. This favours the emergence of a formidable set of new problems that calls for new analysis and synthesis” (GS 5). The new situation has led to substantial changes in the socio-cultural and political context as well as in the theological dimension, resulting in the urgent need to adapt to it. - In terms of the world a number of phenomena, including the end of colonialism, liberation movements, political independence, the new forms of neo-colonial dependence and, today, globalization, show us a world of constant change. - In terms of theology the event of the Second Vatican Council has produced a new ecclesiology, a new more positive view of the secular realities, promoting religious freedom, the theology of religions, interreligious dialogue, all of which lead to a new perception of a mission with new accents and new challenges. - At the level of the missionary Institutes all the above items led to create almost a new missionary identity, determined by the theological novelties mentioned above, the new missionary leadership of the local Church, the new missionary agents (from the missionaries fidei donum to the volunteers movements), the decrease in the number of the “traditional” personnel of the institutes, the phenomenon of internationalization and multi-culturalism of the missionary institutes and the

20 resulting new community composition, complex phenomenon that has affected the missionary Institutes ad gentes. - In addition, for those who are not quite deaf, the voices of the local clergy speak very clearly, making us understand that the era of the missionaries by profession, responsible for the mission ad gentes, is ended. Let it be clear: the mission ad gentes is not finished, but it waits for a new kind of missionaries and a new type of missionary institutes in line with the current times. The need for change is present and it has been perceived. Some changes have also been tried and made even though, in general, they had to do with structural or institutional changes. But more and more we have been becoming aware that we must face this epochal change, first of all, with a deep change of interior attitudes, followed afterwards by structural changes, like an upheaval that slowly moves and change the whole identity of a missionary in his human, spiritual, intellectual and apostolic components, requiring in a second moment or at most at the same time the structural and institutional changes. THREE TYPES OF INTERVENTION Already from the 70’s-80’s the missionary Institutes have implemented a program of ongoing formation to meet, as far as possible, the challenges of the history. I think that the types of approaches were essentially two, while one more type is coming about. I. At first, after the Council and in the 70’s, we have put the accent in front of momentous changes of various types and at different levels. We tried to cope with these changes primarily with various inner attitudes: “professional” renewal courses, other renewal courses, multiplied in favour of the more demanding disciplines. Without escaping from the risk of confusing ongoing formation with aggiornamento, let us call it so, professional. Very soon we recognised that this approach was not enough. It was the individuals who had to be not only the objects but also the subjects of their own personal formation. The only “professional” renewal did not solve the problems of adaptation to the new reality. Certainly morality in the decade after the Council has undergone a profound evolution, yet even more so the exegesis, pastoral ministry..., but a refresher course of this type reached only the outward aspect of the person, his doing, without affecting his being. 2. We then moved to courses of renewal aimed at the individual person, at the renewal of the individual missionary, his way of living his various dimensions, human, spiritual and missionary, without forgetting but much revitalizing his professional aggiornamento which was to be obtained (not excluded nor minimized) in different places, like the theological faculties. Without being psychologists, it was easy to realize that the person after a certain time of commitment in various activities would lose his vitality, settling down to routine, realizing that the motivations that had supported him up to that time were fading away while he was in danger of taking the road towards mediocrity. It was therefore necessary to offer to the missionaries some periods for reflection and verification of their experience in order to revive the person. These periods are of

21 an irreplaceable importance: they allow viewing one’s own experience, analyzing it in its good and bad times, checking for the causes; they allow the renewal of the human and spiritual energy of the person, helping him to update the reasons of one’s own consecration and thus give new impetus to continue his journey. While useful and necessary, these sabbaticals have a twofold limitation: the interventions are a fountain and do not allow a community growth. When a brother after this period goes back to his environment, he is unable to live what he has learned and the benefit received is lost as a stream in the desert. The second limitation is related to the practical feasibility of these periods: in a human environment such as the one of the mission in which the activity is privileged, a stop of some time (which should be, at least in principle, repeated after a certain period) is often practically difficult, if not almost impossible. Still there is not enough conviction, in the missionaries and even in their leaders, that sabbaticals are as important as work and, without such conviction, it is difficult to achieve them. 3. This failure of the sabbatical courses has made us reflect further on the nature of ongoing formation and we have today reached the belief that we have to radically change the approach to it. From an approach to ongoing formation that sees the individual as the object of interventions and solicitations from the Institute or other institutions, by offering courses of various kinds, we came to the understanding that ongoing formation is a commitment entrusted directly to the individual person who is the subject of each program and responsible for his own formation. This new approach, however, is still in its infancy and therefore is very weak both in its understanding and in its execution. a) It implies a new vision of formation that is not only integral in its common components (not just intellectual, but also human, spiritual and pastoral), but it should also include the time component. This aspect must also be integrated to formation. This is why at the beginning of the formation process must be inoculated in the pupil the “virus” of time duration. In other words, we must convince the missionary that his formation will never come to a conclusion, but that this process will be permanent, that it will have its periods of time, as it were, concentrated, as it is the case of his first formation and then the courses for his personal, professional and spiritual renewal, etc., but that formation, as such, should extend to the whole arc of his lifetime, using every moment of his missionary life. b) Missionary life is the place and instrument of formation of the missionary and everything that is relevant to our mission is a means of ongoing formation: first of all comes the ministry carried out by him, the community in which he lives, the confreres with whom he lives, the Christian community served by him, the socio- political and cultural world in which he lives with its prompts. In this commitment to ongoing formation the means to be used and privileged are also those related to his sanctification (daily prayer, study, and pastoral work), the meetings and the needs of the pastoral mission in general, without underestimating the importance of the difficulties met: everything has meaning and impact in holistic and ongoing formation of the individual missionary.

22 c) This new approach requires, however, a profound renewal of the vision of our missionary life, of our community life and of the model of the missionary. As long as we will be guided by the model developed in the colonial era, that is, that of the missionary who goes to mission to bring faith and civilization to those who have nothing, that of the missionary characterized by his giving many things, living a relationship of unconscious (sometimes conscious) superiority, and until the missionary will feel within himself to be the master of the mission and the heroic missionary of all time... ongoing formation will miss the point, and the change will remain a dream, a project written in our Chapter documents, but unable to affect our life. Hence the urgency for missionary Institutes to work out programs of renewal and aggiornamento of themselves! Certainly the individual has a great responsibility, but also the institutes should achieve a new vision of their participation in the mission of the Church and of bringing about a consistent formation. Mission is not ended, it will never end, but a certain type of missionary will change; it is finished and must be brought update if the Institutes do not want to disappear, as it has happened to many institutions of consecrated life in past time. FOR US CONSOLATA MISSIONARIES QUESTIONS FOR AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS Which is the difficulty or which ones are the main difficulties preventing us to open up to a more permanent ongoing formation? How can we help our Region and our communities to appreciate Ongoing Formation? What proposals-orientations can I take home from the course I have attended? How will I be able to continue this formation? “…Priests like these cannot be improvised: they are forged by the precious formation work done in the Seminary and by the Ordination that consecrates them to be forever men of God and servants of His people. But it may happen that time may weaken the generous dedication of the beginning and then, it is vain to sew new patches on an old garment: the identity of the priest, precisely because it comes from above, demands a daily journey of re-appropriation, staring from what has made him a minister of Jesus Christ. The formation of which we speak is an experience of a permanent discipleship that brings us closer to Christ, enabling us to comply all the more to Him Therefore it does not have a deadline, because the priests never stop being disciples of Jesus and follow him. Therefore, formation, viewed as discipleship, accompanies the entire life of an ordained minister and fully concerns his person and his ministry. Basic and ongoing formation are two moments of one only reality: the journey of the priest , in love with his Lord and constantly committed to his fellowshiFr.” (cf. Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, October 3, 2014) Father Stefano Camerlengo, IMC Father Generale

23 Letter to the Missionaries in Asia after the Canonical Visit (August 2015)

08 December 2015, feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Mission to the heart of the people is not a part of my life or an ornament that I can take away; it is not an appendix or a moment among the many of my existence. It is something that I cannot eradicate from my being if I do not want to destroy myself. I am mission. (, Evangelii Gaudium, 273) Behold, I make everything new. (Book of Revelation 21, 5)

Very Dear Ones, At the end of the canonical visit, we decided to send a single message to all of you, summarizing the key issues and, at the same time, indicating some guidelines for the future. In the light of the continental process that we are carrying out in the Institute and considering that in almost a month we visited all the communities, talking to each missionary in the continent, we decided to send a single message to all of you. On the other hand, in every meeting we brought the stories of the joys and difficulties of every community on the continent, insisting that we ought to start thinking with a common view. We want to begin conceiving Asia as a single reality to which we will have to give a legal definition.

24 First of all, I would like to express to you our thanks. We really felt at home, welcomed by brothers who have shared with pleasure part of their mission. The joys and difficulties of all have entered in the memory of our hearts and in the archive of the visit. Combined with a feeling of gratitude, we also send you our apologies if our presence has been unable to fully meet your expectations. In recent years, the Direzione Generale has sought to closely accompany your mission, in obedience to the directives of the General Chapter that asked us to open up decisively to Asia as one of the main options of the Institute for the coming years. We always tried to involve each one of you in the process of evaluation and planning, as well as in the most important decisions we have taken, primarily the opening of the new community of Hsinchu, Taiwan. In this we were advantaged by the assemble style that you have always used since the beginning of your presence, first in Korea, then later involving the missionaries of Mongolia in a two-year formative moment of sharing and spiritual renewal. Today, even our small presence in Taiwan has become part of this tried out exercise of continental dimension. How to raise the awareness of the Institute on Asian reality and the mission which for the past 27 years we carry on in the continent remains one of the priorities, if not the top priority for these and the upcoming years. We talked about it at all meetings held during the canonical visit. It is not easy to see the how to proceed; though we know that something must be done if we want to give life to the desire of the Chapter and answer to the prayer that the church has been doing for some time: go there where the vast majority of people still have not heard the name of Christ. The personnel In the past month we have seen communities well-motivated, serene, and industrious. In Korea, the recent addition of three young missionaries is progressing well, slowly because of the language, but with perseverance. The communities are intercultural, a sign of human richness of our Institute that makes it a gift to the countries where we work. The value of the community was once again stressed in all the meetings: to be, to live and work together is itself a visible form of announcement, but not only. It is also an instrument of support for the missionary. It helps his progressive integration into a completely different context from that of origin or of the place where he had previously worked, supporting him in times of difficulty or dryness. That is why we would like to strengthen, as soon as possible, our community of Taiwan, now reduced to two missionaries, by sending two more confreres who will begin studying Chinese. Mongolia deserves a separate discussion. Today as yesterday (hoping for a positive change for the foreseeable future) the difficulty in achieving the VISA at the Prefecture of Ulaan Baatar causes great problems of management, much to us as to

25 other religious Institutes in the area. With the Direzione Generale of the Consolata Missionary Sisters we asked the Bishop to give us some additional guarantee to enable us to form at least two communities with a number of missionaries that could meet the needs of both Institutes. Unfortunately, the situation does not allow the Bishop to meet our requirement and we have therefore decided to go about it some other way, questioning the Apostolic Nuncio, Propaganda Fide and the Secretary of State to see whether in the near future there will be any opportunity to send some confreres. We are very grateful to both missionaries who, despite the difficulties, carry on with courage and determination their mission, qualifying the Institute’s presence in Mongolia with a creative work and sense of responsibility. The mission Even with a small number of missionaries in the continent, the Institute carries out a mission in Asia which is very diverse, coloured with the specific nuances of each location where we operate today. In Korea our missionary efforts aim to the missionary animation of the local church, to inter-religious dialogue and to the ministry of consolation, directed mainly to migrant workers. We appreciate the efforts made in recent years to get known in a well-structured and organised Church that has gained credibility and respect within the country, but that is traditionally reluctant to give space to missionary forces and religious Institutes that come from overseas. The return home of Father Han Pedro has allowed us to consider other possible and interesting areas for action, not least that of the pastoral care of the North Korean refugees. We ask again our confreres working in Korea to put all possible effort in vocational animation. The experience of Korean missionaries who are already part of the Institute encourages us to continue in this activity which is vital for the continuation of the IMC mission in Asia. Today, the time of vocation promotion is not as favourable as it once was, but we ask you to insist so that, if the Lord wills, we can give our welcome to more missionaries from Korea. Mongolia both missionaries work, although in a different context, in a mission of first evangelization. The services provided at the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaan Baatar and in the parish of Arvaiheer are given to a young church, still in its beginning, that qualifies in a significant way our mission in the light of our charisma. Interesting perspectives for the future mission are represented by the possible insertion in the town of Kharkhorin, the former capital of the Mongol Empire, with a cultural and inter-religious dialogue Centre and by the property that we bought in Ulaan Baatar, in the suburb of Chinguiltey. In Taiwan, the mission is now largely limited to the study of the Chinese language. The contacts of missionary animation started with a group of young university students of Hsinchu and the liturgical support given to the migrants’

26 pastoral work for English speaking migrants bodes well for a near future full of missionary activities. Formation One of the concerns that we shared with all of you during these days is related to the topic of formation. How to ensure that we will be able to prepare ourselves for the mission in the continent? The question has been with us for quite some time. The long periods of adaptation due to the study of the language, the fact of working in countries where different and difficult languages are spoken as well as the inability to study theology in English in countries where we are currently present, have so far not played in favour of opening a formation community for a contextualised study of theology. At the same time we feel that the mission in Asia has special features to which the other formation centres of the Institute can answer only in part. What criteria can we adopt to improve the approach of our future missionaries to the evangelization of the continent Asia? We thought that perhaps one of the ways to achieve this could include the turnover of some missionary currently present in Asia and his subsequent employment in Formation. More than magazines and dossier, what counts most is the direct witness and desire of being identified with a particular mission. Certainly this is one of the topics on which the continental missionary project and that of the Institute will have to focus. The Economy So far, providence has given us friends and benefactors who have helped us in our mission on the continent. In Korea, a group of lay people has supported us in regards to the missionary formation and spiritual accompaniment, sustaining us in our needs and those of the Institute. Even various international cooperation projects were funded by these friends of ours. Thanks to this support and to a careful management of our resources, today Korea is also able to provide for the extraordinary expenses of our community in Taiwan. The latter started a presence at a low cost, in which the Diocese of Hsinchu participates generously in the living and study expenses. However, increasing the number of our personnel, it is easy to predict that we will need to have a fund to guarantee coverage for the costs of the community. Our mission in Mongolia, thanks to God, relies on the help of many Western benefactors who have so far ensured a peaceful management. The canonical visit, however, has wanted to instil also in Asia the underlying concern that the General Chapter has addressed to the whole Institute, called to a mission that has to be, as much as possible, sustainable in all its presences. It is not difficult to predict that the benefactors will get old and, in the West as in the East, it cannot be taken for granted that the younger generation will be able to contribute as generously as the one that has preceded it. It is therefore important to sit down and

27 think about how to anticipate possible difficult moments that can be expected in the near future. We are not doing a disservice to Divine Providence by planning a discernment of the years before us, especially if the Institute, according to the Chapter’s indications, will move more decisively to Asia. It is only right that we begin exploring possible forms of investment and self- financing. Especially Korea could benefit by reviewing the terms of cooperation with the dioceses where we are and where almost all of the services and collaborations are offered at no charge. Even a greater involvement of our lay benefactors in the activities of missionary animation might bear fruit by giving them, in addition to formation, also a greater visibility. Future perspectives New governance organisation Task of the canonical visit was also the presentation of the document of the Direzione Generale about revitalization and restructuring. In principle it seemed to us that there was much interest not only on the spiritual renewal, orientated to recuperating missionary enthusiasm and zeal, but also on the ways of the structural reorganisation that the Institute intends to carry out in the coming months. Our Asian communities present a particular mission, made of silence, steeped in spirituality, set on sobriety, often forced to insignificance, to feel unheard minority. Giving birth to the mission from within, in the spirit of the continent, could help give greater concreteness to the Institute’s search in this regard. The invitation that we have made is to be able to study how to form a Region of Asia that, based on the experience of communion already present, is able to have its originality of thought, greater coordination between the various presences, more responsibility in promoting, both ad intra (in the Institute) as ad extra, its mission and ultimately have a greater representation in the Chapter. Empowerment of the community in Taiwan While waiting to solve the bureaucratic problems that prevent us from increasing our presence in Mongolia, we want to give more consistency to the Community in Taiwan, today unfortunately formed, after a very short time, by only two missionaries. In accord with the Bishop, who is hosting us, we felt it appropriate to assign two other young people who, with the three recently sent to Korea, represent an investment of personnel in view of the future. Missionary stage Also in this perspective, the last Council authorized the stage of missionary experience in Asia of one of our young confreres from the seminary of San Paulo (Brazil).

28 Visits and new openings We believe that the best strategy to increase the awareness of the Institute for Asian themes is to make the Institute present by sending missionaries, making mission. However, in this historical moment we think it is necessary to consolidate the presences we have and not make new openings before the next General Chapter. At the same time we cannot but continue to seek with constancy new outlets for our mission in the continent. Some indications emerged last year during the Asian Assembly held in Arvaiheer (Mongolia) and reiterated during the canonical visit will help us to discern: We should not lose the purpose of the ad gentes and of first evangelization. At the same time, we should explore assignments that may have some vocational outlet; Also the visits made to other countries in the continent were inspired by these criteria. Right at the end of the canonical visit the fathers Pedro Louro and Marcos Coelho, from Korea, went to East Timor for a visit focused on the possibility of bringing the Institute closer to the reality of the Indonesian archipelago. Father Ernesto Viscardi, who last year made a visit to Cambodia, has just finished another exploration on behalf of the Direzione Generale in Myanmar. Disclosure of these reports will help the discernment of the continent before and during the pre-Chapter Assembly, scheduled in Korea on October 10-12, 2016. Communion and collaboration with the Sisters During the canonical visit we also discussed the relationship of communion and collaboration with the sisters. In Mongolia the visit was made together, as well as the steps that should lead, hopefully, to sending additional personnel, both male and female, to the country. As for the other steps to be taken together in the continent, the joint discernment of the next General Chapters will indicate the path to be followed in the future. Conclusion Dear confreres, we have before us a special time to be dedicated to the renewal of our lives. The drafting of this letter actually coincides with the period of Advent, feverish waiting of the novelty of the Gospel that becomes flesh in the person of Jesus. If you well remember, we have dedicated our first message of opening up to the novelty, addressed to the missionaries in Asia and to the whole Institute: “New wine in new wineskins”. It was a message that resumed and expanded, in the light of a reality that we as Direzione Generale were slowly discovering, the mandate of the General Chapter which had asked the Institute to have a special attention to Asia. Today, travelling to another Chapter appointment, we would like to share with you

29 the same spirit of that time. Every day we are asked an exercise of openness to interculturality, ductility in the application of our projects, serious and profound analysis of our religious and missionary life in the relation to the missionary community project, but also to the reality we live in. This openness requires serious study, made of application (first of all in the study of language), but also sympathy for cultures and traditions that in most cases have ancient roots, much older than ours. We say this in particular to those who recently have approached the Continent. You hold in your hands the future of our presence in Asia, you are mission, as Pope Francis reminds us in the Evangelii Gaudium, and tomorrow the fruitfulness of the encounter of this immense continent with our little Institute will depend on you. Put yourself into it with passion, trying to understand it and to know it because a reality can be truly loved only if is known in depth.

Fr. Stefano Camerlengo

Dietrich Pendawazima

Fr. Ugo Pozzoli

Fr. Salvador Medina

Fr. Marco Marini

30 THE ACTS OF THE DIREZIONE GENERALE

A – Admissions to the Priesthood Admitted from the Delegation of Ivory Coast: Ndirangu Deac. Njoroge Odunga Deac. Jean Baptist Ominde

B – Admissions to Perpetual Profession and to the Order of Diaconate Admitted from the Delegation of South Africa: Kaney Std. Obadia Paraboy Ole Kaney Muriithi Std. Peterson Mwangi Admitted from the Region of Brazil: Auma Std. Paul Okoth Mbeyela Std. Heradius Germanus Ochieng Std. Oloo Oiye Std. Joseph Onyango Admitted from the Region of Italy: Balayangaki Std. Danstan Mushobolozi Menya Std. Geoffrey Omondi Musyoka Std. Gregory Nzau Admitted from the Region of Kenya: De Brito Std. Luiz Antonio Kaibe Std. Wilfred Gikondi Kariuki Brother John Gachoki Odhiambo Std. Stephen Alfred Otieno

31 C - Assignments Assignments of the Novices from Martín Coronado, Argentina The Direzione Generale has assigned the 5 novices of the Novitiate Martín Coronado, Argentina, to the Formation Apostolic Communities of Cacém and Cali as follows:

NAME COUNTRY ASSIGNMENT OF BIRTH Baseggio Nov Leandro Augusto Brazil CAF of Cacém - Portugal Erazo Giraldo Nov Carlos Andrés Colombia CAF of Cacém - Portugal Cândido Pereira Nov Sandrio Brazil CAF of Cali - Colombia Hernandez Martinez Nov Oscar Mauricio Colombia CAF of Cali - Colombia Pelaez Epitacio Nov Elmer Mexico CAF of Cali - Colombia

Assignment of Students Student Residence Assignment Ong'era Std Geoffrey Boriga Brazil (seminary) Korea (Stage of two years) Restrepo Eusse Std. Luis Andrés Kenya (Seminary) Colombia (Seminary)

First Assignment of the Deacons admitted to the Priesthood Deacon Residence Assignment Ndirangu Deac. Raphael Njoroge Ivory Coast (studies) Ivory Coast Odunga Deac. Jean Baptist Ominde Ivory Coast (studies) Ivory Coast

Assignment of the Deacons entrusted to the American Continent Missionary Residence Assignment Nyawach Deac. Domnick Otieno Kenya (Seminary) Venezuela Kasuba Nsontien Deac. Bienvenu Italy (Seminary) Amazon Mugerwa Deac. Joseph Brazil (Seminary) Amazon Waiganjo Deac. Patrick Murunga Brazil (Seminary) DG (Mexico Group)

Other Assignments Missionary Residence Assignment South Africa – Director of Agalo Fr. Fredrick Oluoch Mozambique Professed Students Aiardi Fr. Rino DG (USA) Region of Italy Cobalchini Fr. Claudio Brazil Amazon De França Pinto Fr. Ronildo DG (Mexico) Brazil

32 Kalima Fr. Cassiano R. J. G. South Africa Mozambique Kirimi Fr. Jasper Njuki DG (for Asia) DG (Taiwan Group) Mazzotti Fr. Giacomo DG (Congo-Isiro) DG (Casa Generalizia) Murillo Sepulveda Br. Nelson Colombia Kenya Oduor Fr. Chrtispine Okello Kenya Venezuela Prinelli Fr. Felice Colombia Italy Rodrigues da Silva Fr. Gilberto DG (for Asia) DG (Taiwan Group) Zuccato Fr. Osmar Amazon Brazil

D – Director of the Professed Members in Cacém, Portugal The General Council nominates the confrere Ermanno Fr. Savarino as Director of the Professed Members in the Formation Apostolic Community of Cacém.

E – Director of the Professed Members of Cali, Colombia The General Council nominates the confrere M’nthaka Fr. Kennedy Kimathi as Director of the Professed Members in the Formation Apostolic Community of Cali.

F – New Roles in the Congo-Kinshasa and Congo Isiro Groups The Superior General with the consensus of his Council has nominated: - Father Matthieu Kasinzi Mbuta, as coordinator of the Congo-Kinshasa Group, substituting Fr. Symphorien Fumwasendji Kapumba. Fr. Matthieu will also be the representative of the Institute with the ecclesial and civic authorities of the Country. - Father Cyrille Kayembe Asagnion, as parish priest of the Parish of Mater Dei, substituting Fr. Antonello Rossi. - Father Dieudonné Nesapongo Ambinikosi, as coordinator of the Congo-Isiro Group, substituting Fr. Flavio Pante. - Father Bambilikpinga-Moke, as administrator of the Neisu Hospital, substituting Fr. Richard Larose.

G – Councils of the Congo-Kinshasa and Congo Isiro Groups The Superior General with the consensus of his Council has confirmed the members of the Group Councils, as follows: A – Congo-Kinshasa: Superior: Fr. Matthieu Kasinzi Mbuta Councillors: Fr. Cyrille Kayembe Assagnon and Brother Benoit Katula Makiong. B – Congo-Isiro: Superior: Fr. Dieudonné Nesapongo Ambilikosi Councillors: Fr. David Bambilikpinga-Moke and Fr. Flavio Pante

33 H – Coordinator, Administrator and Formator in the Mexico Group The Superior General with the consensus of his Council has nominated: Superior and Coordinator: Fr. Daniel Wolde Sugamo Administrator and Formator: Fr. Alessandro Conti

I – Creation of the Formation Community in Abidjan, Ivory Coast Responding to the request of the Delegation of Ivory Coast, the General Council creates an IMC Community which will house the Centre of Formation/Philosophical Seminary “Blessed Irene Stefani” in Cocodi, Extension Agre, Djogorobité 2, Abidjan.

J – Suppression and creation of local Community - Brazil The Superior General, having received the favourable response of his Council, approves the decision of the Regional Council of Brazil to transfer the local community of the Philosophical Seminary of Curitiba from its present location in Rua Nossa Senhora Consolata, 12 to a new house in Rua Ângelo Mazzaroto, 333, CEP 82320-170, Curitiba.

K – Creation of the Community in Mamelodi, South Africa Responding to the request of the Delegation of South Africa, the General Council creates an IMC Community in Mamelodi, St. , Skhosana-Xaba Drive n. 19543, Mamelodi East.

L – Suppression of the Community in Madadeni – South Africa Responding to the request of the Delegation of South Africa, the General Council suppresses the IMC Community in Madadeni. The Parish is entrusted to the Diocese of Dundee.

M – Exclaustrations 1. Escobar Gómez Fr. Carlos With decree of July 9, 2015 the Holy See grants permanent exclaustration to Fr. Carlos Escobar Gomez in view of his final incardination in the Archdiocese of Londrina, Brazil. 2. Parra García Fr. Mario León. With decree of July 11th the Superior General grants to Fr. Mario León Parra García permission of exclaustration for three years to allow him to carry out his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Cádiz y Ceuta (Spain). 3. Njoroge Gichui Fr. Francis With decree of July 28th the Superior General grants to Fr. Francis Njoroge Gichui permission of exclaustration for three years to allow him to carry out his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Botucatu (Brazil). This decree suspends also the other decree 058/2015 of March 31st with which Fr. Francis had been assigned to the Region of Kenya.

34 4. Cortés Diaz Fr. Enrique Antonio With letter of September 29, 2015 the Holy See grants to Fr. Enrique Antonio Cortés Diaz the extension of the permission for three years to allow him to carry out his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Almería (Spain). 5. Kaggwa Fr. Gerald Ssuna With letter of September 29, 2015 the Holy See grants to Fr. Gerald Ssuna Kaggwa the extension of the permission for three years to allow him to carry out his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Richmond (USA).

N – Dismissals Nyakenyanya Fr. Sosimi Atandi On July 20, 2015 the Holy Father has confirmed the Decree of Dismissal from the Institute of Fr. Sosimi Atandi Nyakenyanya in accordance with the norm of cc. 696-700. Otieno Fr. Jacques William On August 18, 2015 the Holy Father has confirmed the Decree of Dismissal from the Institute of Fr. Jacques William Otieno in accordance with the norm of cc. 696- 700.

O – Dispensation from the Vows and the Diaconate With decree of September 10, 2015 the Holy See grants to Salazar Deac. Julián Andrés the request of dispensation from Diaconate and the obligations from Religious Profession.

35 JUBILEES 2016

RELIGIOUS PROFESSION

25th Anniversary Bonifácio Fr. Helder António da Rosa 25/08/1991 Ishengoma Fr. Thomas 06/08/1991 Kota Mukpekpe. Fr. Victor 06/08/1991 López Buriticá Fr. Adalberto 06/01/1991 Mbae Bro. Severino 06/08/1991 Ngaba Bro. Ndala Rombaut 06/08/1991 Njuguna Bro. Nahashon 06/08/1991 Nkulu Fr. Nestor Iland'a 06/08/1991 Oliveira Fr. Domingos Francisco Forte 25/08/1991 Patiño Gaviria Fr. Luis Fernando 06/01/1991 Pinzón Güiza BP Joaquín Humberto 06/01/1991 Torres Fr. Casimiro Nuno Oliveira 25/08/1991 Tshiani Fr. Simon Tshimbombo 06/08/1991

50th Anniversary Abdoo Fr. Louis 02/10/1966 Barbero Fr. Tommaso 02/10/1966 Bernardi Bro. Mario 02/10/1966 Bertoni Bro. Pietro 02/10/1966 Bignotti Fr. Andrea 02/10/1966 Bonelli Fr. Carlo 02/10/1966 Civalleri Fr. Giovanni 02/10/1966 Dias Fr. Manuel Henriques 02/10/1966 Discepoli Fr. Francesco 02/10/1966 Gritti BP. Carillo 02/10/1966 Hager Fr. Van Allen 02/10/1966 Lerma Martínez BP. Francisco 02/10/1966 Mariga Fr. Sabino 16/02/1966 Pante BP. Virgilio 02/10/1966 Paré Fr. Jean 02/07/1966 Scaccia Fr. Luciano 02/10/1966 Venturini Fr. Giovanni 02/10/1966

60th Anniversary Afonso Bro. José Nunes 02/10/1956 Casiraghi Fr. Giampietro 02/10/1956 Crippa Fr. Giulio 02/10/1956 Dalzocchio Fr. Cornelio 02/10/1956 Gavosto Fr. Emanuele 02/10/1956

36 Gorini Fr. Giuliano 02/10/1956 Milone Fr. Bartolomeo 02/10/1956 Moratelli Fr. Vidal 02/03/1956 Parodi Fr. Aldo 02/10/1956 Rossi Fr. Primo Giancarlo 02/10/1956 Rota Fr. Paolino Battista 02/10/1956 Sottocorna Fr. Tommaso 02/10/1956 Viscardi Fr. Mario 02/10/1956

70th Anniversary Ceschia Fr. Romano 02/10/1946 Fantacci Fr. Angelo 02/10/1946 Gobatti Fr. Lorenzo 02/10/1946 Valli Fr. Mario 02/10/1946 Vettori Fr. Silvio 02/10/1946 Zanotti Fr. Lodovico 02/10/1946

75th Anniversary Bianchi Fr. Antonio 02/10/1941

PERPETUAL PROFESSION (Brothers only)

50th Anniversary Ferrari Bro. Paolo 02/10/1966

60th Anniversary Argese Bro. Giuseppe 01/11/1956 Gonçalves Bro. António dos Reis 01/11/1956 Henriques Bro. Albino 27/03/1956

ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD

25th Anniversary Casadei Fr. Angelo 05/01/1991 Clavijo Serna.Fr. Oscar Alberto 27/07/1991 Kazibwe Fr. Anthony Kiwanuka 21/09/1991 Lima Mendes Fr. Olivaldo 31/08/1991 Rocha Fr. Fernando Vitorino Moreira 21/07/1991 Villa Fr. Pietro 22/06/1991

50th Anniversary Assunção Fr. Elísio Ferreira 17/12/1966 Baruffi Fr. Angelo 18/12/1966 Bordin Fr. Bruno 23/12/1966 Brualdi Fr. Claudio 18/12/1966

37 Callegari Fr. Pio Vittorio 17/12/1966 Canzian Fr. Fiorenzo 18/12/1966 Ferrari Fr. Eugenio 17/12/1966 Gaiero Fr. Pierino 17/12/1966 Girardi Fr. Lírio 17/12/1966 Giuliani Fr. Aldo 17/12/1966 Guazzotti Fr. Gian Carlo 17/12/1966 Mattei Fr. Luciano 17/12/1966 Mazzucchi Fr. Orazio 17/12/1966 Monteiro da Felícia Fr. João 17/12/1966 Pedenzini Fr. Egidio 17/12/1966 Peyron Fr. Francesco 17/12/1966 Pizzaia Fr. Angelo 23/12/1966 Prado Fr. Adriano 17/12/1966 Ravera Fr. Dario Sante 18/12/1966 Trabucco Fr. Pietro 17/12/1966 Viada Fr. Ettore 17/12/1966 Zamuner Fr. Lino Angelo 19/12/1966 Zucchetti P Luciano Felice 17/12/1966

75th Anniversary Demichelis Fr. Giovanni Battista 29/06/1941

38 QUI NOS PRAECESSERUNT

BROTHER FRANCESCO GUGLIELMETTI MUGION (1930-2015)

Personal data and activities 15-09-1930: born in Cirié (Torino) 1936- 1941: grammar schools in Cirié 1942- 1945: Business Institute “Tommaso D’Oria” in Cirié 1946- 1950: worker in Cirié 1951- 1952: military service in Torino 1953- 1959: he works as a trainee at the railway station of Cirié 1960- 1963: Seminary of Giaveno and Rivoli 1964- 1973: employee at the firm SAIAG in Cirié 1974- 0000: Postulancy in Rosignano Monferrato 14-09-1975: Temporary Profession at the Certosa di Pesio 1976- 1978: Administrator at the Certosa di Pesio 14-09-1978: Perpetual Profession in Cirié 1979- 1988: At the Store in Alpignano and in Torino 1989- 1990: Accountant in the General Administration Office in Roma 1991- 1992: Assistant in the infermery of Alpignano 1993- 2007: Accountant in the House of Alpignano 2008- 2015: a guest in the infermery of Alpignano 27-06-2015: died in Alpignano 30-06-2015: buried in the cemetery of Ciré

39 A missionary ready to serve, good and prayerful Brother Guglielmetti joined the Institute when he was forty-four years old. Introducing him to the Regional Superior of Italy, his parish priest described him so: “I have known Mr. Franco Guglielmetti for the last 18 years; I have been close to him through all his studies, his work, his married life and above all I have had him in my house for the last ten months. I have been his Spiritual Director and I can assure you of his sincere intention of entering into religious life, having a complete good will for a prompt obedience, purity of life and a poverty willingly accepted. Therefore I think that he should be accepted, certain that religious life will be a great help to the improvement of his spiritual and moral life and for the wellbeing of the Brothers to whom obedience will send him. In faith. Don Pietro Orsello – Parish Priest of San Giovanni in Cirié” (Cirié, May 24, 1974). Br. Franco Guglielmetti Mugion was born in Ciriè (TO) on September 15, 1930, in a peasant family. He had three sisters. He was the only male son. After Grammar School he attended the Business Institute in Cirié till 1945. Once the war was over he looked for a but he did not find any. He alternated helping his uncle in the farm and in the small family firm. He enrolled in the Catholic Action. In 1948 he finally found work in a dyeing firm in Casalegno di Ciriè. In the years 1951-1952 he made his military service in Torino and came to know the Jesuit Fathers by attending their Spiritual Exercises. In 1954 he met Fr. Davide Condotta, a Consolata missionary, with whom he started talking about his future and his desire of consecrating his life to the Lord. He visited the Mother House, spent his holidays in Varallo Sesia and in Rosignano Monferrato where Fr. Redighieri was the Superior. From him he received the green light to begin his missionary vocational process. Though his family was unhappy about his desire and opposed it strongly also because he was the only male son. He gave up and found employment in the railways. But he always continued to dream about his vocation of consecration to the Lord. In the end his family, seeing his persistent desire to become a priest, agreed and thus the Parish Priest sent him to the Diocesan Minor Seminary. It is the year 1960 and Franco is already 30 years old. But the Seminary in Rivoli did not accept him because he had not studied Latin. He began studying it in private and thus, the following year, he was admitted to the Seminary in Rivoli and received his clerical investiture. The study requires too much effort to the detriment of his health. He was advised by the doctors to desist from the studies, at least for a period of time. He found a new job and in 1964 met Piera, a 30 year old girl. They were well together and so they decided to consider getting married. After a brief courtship, they married in 1964. Marriage was happy, but they did not have children, and so they thought of starting the procedure for an adoption. But suddenly his wife fell ill with cancer and left him a widower in 1973. Franco viewed that event as “God's plan” and resumed his dialogue of discernment with Fr. Condotta, now that he was in Torino, after years of mission in Kenya. He prayed, dialogued and after a period spent in a community he asked to join

40 the Institute, obtaining from the Regional Council permission to begin his training to become a Missionary Brother. He made his Novitiate in Certosa in 1974. The following year he made his religious vows, and finally on September 15, 1978 he made his perpetual vows. The rest of his life as a Consolata missionary was quite simple. His missionary service in the Institute will be mainly in the field of administration. One year at the Certosa, two years in Alpignano in the Brothers’ community, seven years at the Store in Alpignano, two years in Roma as secretary of the General Administrator. He then returned to Alpignano where he remained till the end of his life: a helper in the infirmary, accounting, a member of the community of the elders on account of the progressing worsening of his health. Considering his personality, what Br. Franco has been for us, his confreres who had known him, I feel to describe him with three words. Service Br. Franco was an individual always ready to serve. Aware of his shortcomings due to the mature age when he joined the Institute, Br. Franco soon found out that his role in the Institute and his contribution to the mission would have been his humble, daily, constant and regular service to the community where he lived and in the task that was requested from him in the administration field. He knew well how to embody the spirit of our Father Founder whom he had already come to love many years before entering the Institute, trying in every way to be helpful to others. His person and his tastes were secondary. I remember him, during the two years we spent together in Rome: punctual and attentive, thoughtful and kind, unable to say “no” whenever something was asked of him. Fearful of not fully expressing his missionary service, he took advantage of the free time from his hours of work to visit and provide assistance to the sick at the Cottolengo. Goodness His smile, kindness, patience were traits that adorned his innate goodness. It is not that everything always was agreeable to him or proved to be easy: sometimes he suffered due to problems related to his work or tensions in community life. He preferred to hide his crosses, or better yet, he brought them gracefully as if they were no burden at all. Even health difficulties have never dampened his smile and his concern for others. During the last years of his life, when his health worsened, his intention was to offer his sufferings for the Institute and the mission, for church events, for people in crisis... He was sure that his life and his physical sufferings were valuable coin if offered to God with faith. Piety By piety I mean the life of prayer, the spirit of simple and deep faith, trying to live it all without forgetting the supernatural angle. So Fr. Franco has been able to embody that spirit of faith that Blessed Allamano wanted from us missionaries, when he said: “A missionary, he or she, who does not have a simple and integral faith as to find in the evening his/her comfort at the foot of the Blessed Sacrament what will he

41 or she do? When there is not this humble, simple and integrated faith there is nothing” (CVV 89). He loved the Word of God, striving to it be his life and also trying to share it with others. Jesus in the Eucharist, devotion to the Consolata and meditation have always been the daily bread of his “piety”, baggage which over the years has become more precious with the addition of the cross of his health. Now, Br. Franco has reached the fullness of that ideal of life and of consecration that have been with him through all his life and supported him in the difficult moments of the disease: God and his will, love for all, with that attitude that Pope Francesco would call “tenderness”. We are sure that from heaven he continues to be close to us and pray for us. Fr. Pietro Trabucco, IMC

42 FATHER PAUL STEFANOWICH (1927-2015)

Personal data and activities 14-07-1927: Born in Wibaux - Montana (USA) 1933- 1940: Grammar school in Wibaux 1941- 1945: High school in Wibaux and in Long Beach 1962- 1965: Lyceum in the Seminary - Cromwell 1966- 1968: Philosophy at the Catholic University in Washington 08-09-1967: Temporary Profession in Buffalo, N Y 08-11-1970: Perpetual Profession in Somerset, N J 1969- 1972: Theology in Somerset 03-06-1972: Priestly Ordination 1973- 1974: Director of the Seminary in Somerset 1975- 1981: Superior and Missionary Animator in Milford, CT 1982- 1983: Superior in Pittsburgh, PA 1984- 1999: Administrator and Vocational Promoter in Somerset 2000- 2002: Missionary animation in Buffalo 2003- 2015: Pastoral work in Somerset 24-07-2015: Died in New Brunswick, NJ 29-07-2015: Buried in the cemetery of St. Peter and Paul in Williamsville, NY

A Good and faithful shepherd Father Paul was born in Wibaux, Montana, on July 14, 1927. His parents of Polish origin were Clementine and Jerry Stefanowich. He grew up in Montana, a land which Paul has never forgotten and which has marked his activity and human relationships. He stayed in that region until he was 17 and then he transferred to Long Beach, California, where he attended Saint Anthony High School. Afterwards he enrolled in the military service of the United States Air Force. Those were the first years after the Second World War. As a member of the Air Force he went to France and Germany. He used to remember the determination and skill of the Germans in

43 rebuilding their Country out of the ruins of the bombings. After faithfully serving the State for four years he was discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He was a member of the Catholic War Veterans of the United States of America. Tied to his family roots, after military service Father Paul went to work as herder of sheep and cattle in Wyoming. He stayed for many years at the ranch of his brother, Joseph. He carried out this job so well as to deserve the title of cowboy. He was a perfect herdsman: he dedicated himself totally to the care of the flock, calling the sheep by name, living a simple life he has braved snow, ice, rain, storms, drought and summer heat. A quite harsh life. With this experience has reached the decision to become a Consolata Missionary. He attended the Holy Apostles College in Cromwell, Connecticut. Later he enrolled at the Catholic University in Washington, DC, where he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy. Paul made his Perpetual Profession in Somerset, NJ, on January 8, 1972, in the parish of Saint in Kendall Park, NJ. In their reports for the admission to Religious Profession and Priestly Ordination, Paul’s formators described him as an honest individual, determined to become a priest and a religious. They openly stated: “Among all our students, Paul is the one who more intensely is proud to be a member of the Institute which he loves greatly. He has developed a deep spiritual life. This will be a help for him in view of the difficulties of his future life. He deeply lives his union with God and he has a special devotion to . As for his religious life Paul is a model for his confreres. He has a certain intellectual maturity and he is determined in his study because he wants to become a missionary priest. For Paul work is a religious value and an ideal. He finds satisfaction and joy in work; through his work his life flows smoothly, whereas he becomes somewhat nervous without it; through work also his spiritual life seems easier. In future he will be able to achieve a balance between pastoral work and material work”. He has become a priest at the age of forty-four years and he has carried out his missionary service in his homeland. During the years of his generous priestly and religious service Father Paul resided in the IMC communities of Milford, CT, from 1974 to 1975 and again from 1977 to 1982; in that of Buffalo, NY, in 1976 and then again from 1995 to 2001; in Pittsburgh, PA, from 1982 to 1983; and in Somerset, NJ, from 1984 to 1994 and then from 2002 till his death. He has served the communities as Superior and Regional Administrator. As a missionary priest, Father Paul had also the opportunity of visiting some of our missions in Kenya for two months together with his seminary colleague Fr. John Reuther. He used to remember that visit to the missions as a special grace from the Lord and was admiring the great work done by our missionaries in that Country. Besides he has carried out the ministry of Chaplain of the Knights of Colombo (Mons. O’Grady - Council Number 664) Even during the years throughout his advanced age he continued to spread the joy of the Risen Christ saying Mass in the Mission Centre and in the local Parishes.

44 Father Paul was gifted with a marvellous sense of humour and an extraordinary skill in comforting people, especially through his sermons, very well prepared and attentively followed by his listeners, and the sacrament of reconciliation. At any time of the day he was available to administer the sacrament of reconciliation to all those who to turned to him, whether priests or lay. Fr. Stefanowich died on Friday, July 24, 2015, at ’s University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. Father Paul was the youngest of the seven children of Clementine and Jerry. Before him his brothers had died: Peter and Joseph; also his sisters: Mary, Rose, Victoria, and Gertrude. He has left one sister, Florence Johnson living in Seal Beach, CA. His funeral took place on July 29, 2015, in the parish church of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, in Kendall Park, where father Stefanowich had been ordained a priest 41 years earlier. Now he rests in the cemetery of St. Peter and Paul in Williamsville, NY, where are also buried the confreres: Fr. Giuseppe Prina, Fr. Giuseppe Moncher, Fr. Charles Fogarty, Br. Mario Petrino, Fr. Roberto Viscardi, Fr. George Hickey, and Fr. Robert Rezac. The witnesses received agree in remembering the various aspects of the life of Fr. Paul: “He never lost his love for the place of his youth, Montana; he used to often speak about Montana, his closeness to nature, the roughness of the places, the vast open areas and the cowboy atmosphere”. (Fr. Lenny De Pasquale). “Fr. Paul truly had a big heart, even though he did not manifest it. To discover it you had to go beyond a layer of roughness, leaving behind some sharpness around the edges. But, put aside his fake crudeness, one was in front of a humble and generous man who has changed the lives of many, he has forged friendships, leaving a mark, he left memories in the hearts, consoling young and old and serving the Lord really well” (Fr. Michele Brizio). “When Paul passed by the chapel he used to say: “Let us greet the Boss”. He used to enter, kneel and say a short prayer. Every time he came back home from a trip or an errand he would open the door of the chapel and say: “Jesus, I thank you because you keep me safe”. He spoke to Jesus as a child to his own mother. He has always said the Breviary. He was always available to minister the sacrament of reconciliation and people would look for Fr. Paul to receive his absolution. I would like to say many things about Fr. Paul, but I summarize it by saying that as a Consolata missionary priest he was faithful in all, he was very close to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and was deeply devoted of and loved Our Lady Consolata” (Fr. Peter Ssekajugo). Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc ******

45 FATHER GIUSEPPE VILLA (1919-2015)

Personal data and activities 22-05-1919: Born in Milano 1925- 1930: Grammar schools in Milano 1931- 1941: High school and lyceum in the Seminary of the Duomo in Milano 01-01-1942: Temporary Profession in Caselette (Torino) 1940- 1944: Theology in Venegono (Milano) and in Rosignano 18-06-1944: Priestly Ordination in Rosignano Monferrato 01-01-1945: Perpetual Profession 1945- 1049: Teacher and Assistant in Varallo Sesia-Rosignano and in Vittorio Veneto 1950- 1957: Assistant in the Oratory in Martina Franca 1958- 1970: Missionary animator, Superior and Rector in Rovereto 1971- 1974: Vice Regional Superior and Director of AMV in Torino 1975- 1981: General Councillor and Director of AMV in Roma 1981- 1987: Superior of the Region of Italy 1988- 1996: Superior in Rovereto, in Bevera and in Alpignano 1997- 2015: An assistant and a guest of the Blessed Allamano House in Alpignano 31-07-2015: Died in Alpignano 04-08-2015: Buried in the cemetery in Alpignano

Faithful servant “Very Rev. Father Superior, I, undersigned, Villa Giuseppe dare present to you the request to be accepted in your Missionary Institute in order to follow the vocation of the apostolate among the infidels. This vocation has been the desire of my youth years. I was prevented to accomplish it because it was opposed by my parents. Today I have obtained their permission and therefore insistently I beg that my petition be approved I have already done the lyceum studies and this year I have attended the second year of Theology. I have done my lyceum studies at the seminary of the Duomo of Milano and I have studied Theology at the seminary of Milano (Venegono Inferiore), though I add that I have not yet received any sacred Order.

46 With the sincere hope that my application will be accepted, I thank you in advance and hereby greet you, your most humble and devoted Giuseppe Villa” (Milano August 31, 1940). The letter was accompanied by the information provided by the Parish Priest and the Rectors of the two seminaries, all in agreement to state that the seminarian Villa was a young man with an exemplary behaviour, serious and with a spirit of prayer and that the Institute would have gained a valid individual in the future. On October 1940 he entered the Institute and after three months of probation he began his Novitiate, at the end of which his Novice Master presented him for religious profession describing him as “an individual who loves the Institute and is interested in promoting enthusiasm among the class mates of the seminary from which he had come; easy to live with he adapts well in all circumstances; he does not love to be noticed, he is industrious, he loves manual work and is successful in what he does. He has a solid piety which he experiences in life. He is motivated by good will; he is a good individual who can attract other good vocations from the seminary of Venegono from which he had come. During the Novitiate he behaved well and was faithful to all his tasks and commitments”. All this seemed a true projection of what would eventually happen in the life of Fr. Villa. After his Priestly Ordination he began his work as an assistant and a teacher in our apostolic houses in Varallo Sesia, Rosignano Monferrato and Vittorio Veneto. He spent seven years in Martina Franca as an Assistant Parish Priest and in charge of the Oratory of our parish of Saint Francis. During this time Fr. Villa showed his gifts as educator and animator. His enthusiasm and fantasy in the various initiatives brought about a climate of deep participation and collaboration not only among the young people of the Oratory but it also involved their respective families. His activity has truly left a mark on the people who even after many years have consistently shown gratitude and sympathy for him. After his positive pastoral experience, Father Villa began that of service within the Institute, filling various positions of government at different levels. For twelve years he carried out his work in the apostolic house in Rovereto as a missionary animator, Superior and Rector of the school. During this time he asked to be assigned to the missions, but he was only allowed to visit our missions in Kenya. During such visit, writing to the Superior General he stated: “After having visited Nairobi and Meru and a number of missions and especially after attending the religious service in the Cathedral, I feel the duty of expressing to you my deep gratitude. Certainly one thing is to hear and another is to see and it is spontaneous my admiration for the many sacrifices of the missionaries and almost my envy for their position on the front line”. The trust of the confreres was expressed by the election of Fr. Villa as a Councillor of the Region of Italy and as Regional Director of the missionary and vocational animation. After some time he also became Vice Regional Superior. The General Chapter of 1975 elected him General Councillor. As such he had the opportunity of visiting the various Missions, offering his contribution as General Director of missionary and vocational animation.

47 From 1981 and for six years he was the Superior of the Region of Italy. It has been a time of many initiatives and activities in the various sectors: formation, animation, study and realization of the Chapter’s decisions, administration etc. There was turmoil in the Region: problems due to the decline of the number of vocations, problems regarding the reorganization of the commitments and activities of some communities, problems for personal situations of different types. There is no doubt that this has been one of the most challenging periods for the Regional Superior. The following years, from 1988 to 2000, Fr. Villa was Superior in Rovereto, then in Bevera and finally in Alpignano. On the occasion of his 60th anniversary of Religious Profession, the Superior General complimented him for the great drive of missionary enthusiasm and desire to do good which he still carried in his heart, thanking him for all the good he had done wherever he had worked. Fr. Villa, answering, wrote: “I have reached 60 years as son of the Consolata. Deo gratias et Mariae. Your message-prayer has accompanied me in my jubilee preparation and celebration. With great joy I have somewhat read again the marvellous things that the Lord has accomplished in me as son of Allamano. I have infinitely thanked him and I have begged him to bury all my failures in his infinite mercy”. On June 18, 2014 he celebrated the 70th anniversary of his Priestly Ordination. His forces were dwindling, but he continued to offer his suffering and prayer for the missions for which he had devoted all his energy and all his life and which he had intensified in recent years especially those spent at the Blessed Allamano House in Alpignano. The Lord has called him to receive the reward reserved for the faithful servants on July 31, 2015. His body rests in the cemetery in Alpignano. Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc

______

TESTIMONIAL

« Father, I want those you have given me be with me where I am, to behold my glory […].They know that you have sent me and I made known to them your name and I will still make it known» (Jn. 17, 24-26). This prayer of Jesus to the Father that we have just heard in the Gospel according to John, we believe that today Jesus is saying it in favour of Fr. Villa, because he wants him to be with him, because he believed that he was sent into the world, and because he wants him to fully know the Father. Fr. Villa sees God as he is! This is our faith and our prayer. If P. Villa had known that I would have said a few words at his funeral, he certainly would have asked him not to talk about him. I wish I could please him, but I cannot prevent myself from praising and thanking God for this our brother. It is not possible to be silent about him. Fr. Villa lived his missionary vocation in a “special” and “proper” way. He joined the Institute, young and enthusiastic, to go to the mission, but he spent all his long years

48 of life in Italy. It was not easy, but he preferred to give priority to God’s plan rather than his. And he was a true missionary, even without going to Africa. These long years in Italy have had their own features: Fr. Villa was a “simple” missionary (he has never come forward to get noticed. His brothers were the ones who noticed him and indicated him for certain responsibilities). He was always “available” (he has always obeyed without asking the “why” of certain destinations) and “generous” (he has said many “yes” without making it burdensome). Today we are left with his memory and his example. He has honoured our Institute! Yes, he has honoured us from the very beginning of his priesthood, from 1944 onwards, committed to teaching and assisting our boys and seminarians in our seminaries (Varallo Sesia, Vittorio Venero, Rosignano Monferrato). In those years, during World War II, he lived an intense moment of his life. In Varallo, how many sleepless nights to help the Jews make bundles and suitcases to escape and not be caught by the SS. It was a heroic period, because he was exposed to serious danger, but he never boasted of his heroism! Maybe he was not even aware of that, so spontaneous and natural for him. The seven years spent in Martina Franca (1950-1957) in charge of the boys, were unforgettable for him and for the people. Even today there they remember Father Giuseppe. He had a special skill to attract young people, keep them together and educate them. Even missionary animation, with the promotion of vocations, was an activity in which he dived at full speed, starting from Rovereto (1964-1970). It can be said that all parishes in Trentino saw him pass through. And then finally in Torino (1970-1975): director of the AMV of the Region; Regional Councillor, Vice Regional Superior. I have worked with him during these years. It has been a period not only of collaboration, but of a full mutual understanding between two confreres who have then become brothers and friends. It was easy to work with him, because he had clear ideas and he knew how to propose them, even with tenacity, but afterwards he also knew how to be integrated into a joint project without argument. Since we broke up at the end of our service, it was woe on us if we ever forgot to wish the best to each other on our feast day. He was always the first to make the phone ring. The Chapter of 1975 called him to be a General Councillor. Kiddingly we told him: so now you can visit the missions which you had dreamed about as a boy! During those six years he did not only visit the missions. Finally, after his service in the Direzione Generale, he had even more work and responsibilities: Regional Superior of Italy (then with residence in Bedizzole - 1981- 1987), Superior of different houses (Rovereto, Bevera and even Alpignano - 1992- 1995), with his usual simplicity and generosity. He did not impose his ideas, but he was able to keep alive the community and above all he served and guided! It was in this period that Father Villa lived another challenging and difficult time of his life when he had to undergo the operation in the throat for one of those diseases that seemed incurable. We were afraid of losing him. He himself, who knew well his situation, had no illusions. He confided that he had prepared himself to still answer

49 “yes” if God had called him. Fortunately God has left him with us for a long time, until the ripe old age of 96 years. During the last period in this house of Alpignano, he offered the collaboration that his strength allowed. I had visited him about a month ago. He was in bed, all covered by a sheet. Uncovering him I told him he looked like a “mummy”. He laughed heartily. We talked for a while. I saw him again, together with some other confreres, just a few hours before he died. We prayed the Hail Mary in a loud voice by his bed. Perhaps he did not recognise us. Before leaving I went close to him, calling his name. His eyes were shut without giving any sign of awareness. With pain in my heart I caressed him as a brother who appreciated him much. Now we entrust his body to mother earth, but we know that his spirit is with God. Surely, his departure fills our heart with sadness, but we are all the same happy because he has achieved eternity. You had the right, dear Fr. Villa, to meet Jesus in whom you have believed throughout your life. You had the right that Jesus himself, as he had promised at the Last Supper, would make you know the Father. Now you contemplate God “as he is”, no longer through the veil of faith, but “face to face”. You are lucky! The Most Holy Mary Consolata, together with our Founder, our brothers and sisters welcome you with joy. Our family in Heaven keeps on growing. We shall see you there where you now live happily. (Sermon of Fr. Francesco Pavese, imc, August 04, 2015)

50 FATHER JOSÉ OSCAR AGUILAR (1972-2015)

Personal data and activities 09-11-1972: born in Concepción - Corrientes (Argentina) 1978- 1986: grammar schools at the School in Concepción - Corrientes 1989- 1994: Middle School at the Colegio del Bicentenario 1995- 1998: Philosophy at the Seminary in Buenos Aires 02-01-2000: Temporary Profession in Martin Coronado 20-06-2003: Perpetual Profession in San Paolo (Brazil) 2000- 2004: Theology in San Paolo (Brazil) 14-02-2004: Priestly Ordination in Corrientes 2005- 0000: Pastoral work in Caracas (Venezuela) 2006- 2015: Superior and pastoral work in Carapita (Venezuela) 01-08-2015: Died in Argentina 04-08-2015: Buried in Concepción – Corrientes

Suffering he has sown consolation Father Oscar came from a modest family, consisting of father, mother and five children. As he himself says, due to complications during his birth, he was barely alive together with his mother. After elementary school, during adolescence, he spent much time outside his home for his studies, being simultaneously engaged in occasional works: clerk, baker, gofer, housework, cook, etc. This period was very important for him because he had the chance to meet many people and make friends with young people of his age. With these companions he formed a Group that met for formation meetings of prayer and often went on pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Itati. The Group committed in the parish context merged eventually in the Catholic Action. This offered him opportunities to participate in spiritual retreats where he deepened the topics of Jesus Christ, the Virgin and the reality of the young people as the hope of the future. This belonging to Catholic Action was considered by him as

51 providential also for the choice of his vocation. It was during one of the formation events that he happened to read a magazine of the Consolata Missionaries which described the Institute, its missionary activities in Africa, in Latin America and Asia. This knowledge of the Institute aroused in him a strong desire to devote his life to the poorest, materially and spiritually. This desire became his decision to commit his life to the missionary cause. He was twenty years old when he began his studies of philosophy in our philosophy seminary in Buenos Aires. He completed his novitiate in Martin Coronado; the Novice Master, in his report for the admission to religious profession, described in detail the various aspects of the personality of Oscar, starting with his health. He suffered from anaemia that had not been treated properly and that eventually resulted in diabetes. These disorders had prevented Oscar to carry out normal commitments and for him this was a big disappointment. The Novice Master continues reporting that Oscar is a sensitive, humble and very helpful person ready to serve, getting involved in the needs of others; he has a lot of ease in weaving friendships with people; he likes to spend time with the people especially the simplest. Intellectually limited, studying costs him a lot, but he is seriously committed. He prefers to serve and carry out work useful to the community. He is well received by his comrades with whom he knows how to relate in an attractive way. From this point of view he has been very committed, taking advantage of this special time. Oscar has continued this commitment in the years of theology. His formators are unanimous in describing his generosity to absorb the spirit of the Institute. Presenting him for the priesthood his formators describe him as a person of excellent feelings, caring and sensitive to the needs of others. He suffers from anaemia and diabetes which forces him to take a certain amount of insulin. He is aware of his capabilities and limitations. He does not dramatize his condition and faces with serenity the daily reality. He is very sociable and knows how to make friendship with simple people and does everything to make them known to the members of the community. He is interested in them especially if they are sick. He is well integrated in the community and he is on good terms with everyone, accepting well the differences of others, being also well accepted by the others because of his simplicity and generosity. He is very committed to the community activities, carrying them out with creativity, good taste and sense of responsibility. Open to the needs arising from internationality and to dialogue. He lives his experience of God with simplicity, faithful to personal and community prayer, assiduous to sacramental life. He cultivates a very missionary spirituality. As religious he is identified in consecrated life and responds well to the suggestions and directives of his formators. On the pastoral level for Oscar it is clear that the main task of the missionary is to proclaim the Gospel and he proved it in practice during his diaconate. He has a

52 great ability in working among the poor. He has been able to fit very well in the Christian communities where he worked. He was highly respected and appreciated by the people whom he visited frequently in their homes, guiding and animating them in various celebrations. The formators conclude that Oscar has travelled a path of formation greatly positive. The religious, missionary and ministerial experience made has shown that the candidate is well prepared and this has reassured them in presenting him to be a priest who will serve the Church with generosity. Fr Oscar in his eleven years of priesthood has really first served the Venezuelan church in Caracas Venezuelan and then as Superior and Parish Priest of the community in Carapita. He has really committed all his physical and spiritual resources to enable the people of God entrusted to him grow. He has offered with abundance the Word of God, the grace of the sacraments, being constantly concerned for the suffering, the poor and the needy, despite his very poor health conditions that have plagued him throughout his life, especially in the last period. On June 22, 2015 he returned to Buenos Aires where he could continue the dialysis, but doctors wanted to carry out a series of analyzes and controls because Fr. Oscar was frighteningly emaciated. Despite this state of affairs, in mid-July he wanted to visit his family to celebrate the eightieth birthday of his father. Back in Buenos Aires he resumed dialysis. After the dialysis of the 30th of July he fainted. Urgently admitted to hospital, the doctor said that the situation was extremely serious, and in fact at 12:30 of August 1, 2015, Fr. Oscar passed away. In keeping with the desire of the elderly and sick father and other relatives, the body was moved to Concepción, his hometown, for the funeral and burial. Upon hearing the news of the death, the Superior General sent the following message: “Dear friends, I join you in the Venezuelan Delegation and in the Region of Argentina, along with all the confreres, for the death of Father Oscar. I am in Korea, not yet accustomed to the different time zone. During the night this sad news of the death of Father Oscar arrived: one side it is a surprise as it came, from the other side everyone knew his health situation. May God’s will be done! We have one more angel in heaven that protects us and accompanies us. I wish to express to all of you, to the family and all his friends my deepest condolences and solidarity. Thanks for the gift that he has been for our Institute; he has taught us that even with suffering and illness we can be missionaries and bearers of consolation for others. Thank you, Oscar, we carry you with us; a warm hug and a laugh as you know how to do it. To you and to all a dear and brotherly hug and a prayer. Father Stefano”. Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc ******

53 FATHER GIUSEPPE FUSAROLI (1927-2015)

Personal data and activities 28-02-1927: Born in Cesena (Forlì) 1933- 1938: Grammar schools in Cesena 1939- 1943: High school in the seminary in Cesena 1944- 1946: Lyceum at the Pontifical Regional Seminary in Fano 02-10-1947: Temporary Profession in the Certosa di Pesio 02-10-1950: Perpetual Profession in the Certosa di Pesio 1947- 1951: Theology in the IMC Seminary in Torino 29-06-1951: Priestly Ordination in Torino 30-10-1951: Pastoral work in Florencia, Belèn, Tocaima, Cartagena, Chaguani (Colombia) 1995- 1996: Pastoral work in Cavi di Lavagna 1997- 2000: Mission Animation in Porto San Giorgio 2001- 2007: Pastoral work in Gambettola 2008- 2015: Blessed Allamano House in Alpignano 08-08-2015: Died in Cesena 11-08-2015: Buried in the cemetery in Cesena

“He smelled the sheep” Fr. Giuseppe Fusaroli, having completed the third year of Lyceum in the Pontifical Regional Seminary in Fano, wrote in a letter addressed to the Superior Of the Consolata Missionaries in Torino: “I came to Torino, accompanied by the Vice Director of my seminary, on July 15th and manifested my desire to enter the Institute to consecrate myself to the apostolate among the infidels. But my relatives wished that I would wait still one more year and since it looked that I would take this decision anyway, namely to join immediately this year, I am writing to you making them read this letter and manifesting their reasons so that they may see that I am trying to do God’s will. I am an orphan: I lost mother when I was four years old and my father died four months later. We are three brothers and I am the youngest; I am nineteen years

54 old, my brother will be twenty one next October and he too is the seminary having concluded this year his second year of Theology; my sister is twenty-three years old and she lives in the house since she is not married. We live in a farm house locate about one kilometre from Cesena while my sister would live with one of my aunts. We are considering how to solve the problem of my sister so that she may have a serene life. My cousin is the administrator of our goods and we choose him to be our tutor. Therefore I am asking you to tell me what I should do for God’s greater glory, the good of my soul and of the whole Church. I ask you also, since I do not have a legal tutor, who should sign my request of admission to the Institute. Finally I ask you to pray for me the Most Holy Mother Consolata to help me follow soon her Son’s call. Jour devoted son in C. J. – Seminarian Fusaroli Giuseppe” (18-08-1946). One month later he reached the Certosa di Pesio where he made his Novitiate and where, at the end of the year, his Novice Master presented him for Religious Profession stating that he was “a good individual, much attached to his vocation and to the Institute, having a firm piety, easy and pleasant to live with, obedient, docile and cordial, with a good health. Since he did not have any previous experience he lacks initiative in work, having little practical sense, being quick in carrying out his duties. But his efforts to improve have been evident. He also has moments of phlegm, almost of apathy, but also in this regard his efforts of good will have been constant. I thing that, helped in the coming years of formation, he may become a precious missionary”. He completed his religious and theological formation in our seminary in Torino where he was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1951. Four months later he was in the Apostolic Vicariate of Florencia (Colombia). He made his first missionary experience in Torasso. The humid climate of the area had caused him a form of rheumatism that, as he wrote: “It torments me and I complain like an old man of seventy, because it pains me here and then it moves there, it pains me there and then it is felt here”. So after six years he was transferred to Bogota, where the dry climate helped him get rid of all the pain. But the Region of Caquetà which he had left crying remained in his heart. He knew that the population had increased dramatically, and it seemed a betrayal to his vocation to stay away from those people. Therefore, two years later he asked the Superior General to be allowed to make return to Caqueta. He was assigned to Belén, a mission densely populated in a vast territory. Fr. Fusaroli spent there all his energies with an intense pastoral activity: catechesis, schools, the sick, visits to the various chapels. People have known and appreciated the missionary zeal which he dedicated to his mission. A parishioner of Belen, on the death of Father Joseph sent a beautiful testimony to the Regional Superior of Colombia, where among other things she wrote: “Today, the news of the death of Fr. Fusaroli, opened in all of us and in in particular a deep wound in our heart: he was my parish priest in Belen, my father in my childhood and in my youth. He was a real priest, worthy, fervent in liturgical celebrations, exemplary for his parishioners, regular in visiting the families, regardless of fatigue for his long trips on horseback over bad roads. He was a

55 cheerful individual, enthusiastic about his vocation; he had assimilated well our culture and there was a deep understanding among us. He could invent so many things that filled us with joy. He was a pastor who “smelled of sheep”, as suggested by Pope Francis; he was a contemplative priest, a brother, a friend, a father, the road leading to God. All this was P. Fusaroli in Belen. I am happy for having been his collaborator in the pastoral work of the parish. I thank Fr. Fusaroli, father, friend and authentic witness of Jesus. To him, for his missionary commitment, is kept an eternal happiness because his works accompany him”. P. Fusaroli has paid dearly for this fruitful period of activities. This was revealed in a letter to the Superior General, where among other things he wrote: “At least twenty years were spent alone. I feel the consequences of this long solitude and I am not the only one responsible for this. I therefore ask you that I may not be left alone. I know that my request may complicate things somewhat in the assignment of personnel and also in keeping up with all the necessities, but for me the greatest need is the salvation of my soul. I am sure that you, Father, will want to help me and place a brother with me. Thank you very much before the Lord” (Belén, 10-10-75). The request was quickly accepted and Fr. Joseph, with equal promptness thanked him and candidly confessed: “It is nice to feel to be loved by the Superior!” From Belèn he moved to Tocaima, Bogotà and Cartagena to replace confreres that were sent elsewhere or had gone for a time of rest. In 1981 he too was assigned to a new place and for the following five years he worked in missionary and vocational animation in Martina Franca and Gambettola. From 1986 to 1991 he began again his activity in Colombia, first in Chaguani and then in Solano. The rheumatic conditions and poor general health led the Superiors to recall him to Italy, where for three years he worked with his brother priest in Cesena, while he could recover his health in the family. His long missionary experience was invaluable in the twelve years of animation in youth meetings and in pastoral ministry carried out in the various communities of the Region of Italy, especially in Martina Franca, Marina Palmense, Lavagna and Gambettola. While the years were advancing also his health condition was deteriorating and therefore in 2008 he became part of the community of Blessed Allamano in Alpignano. He spent his last years always being interested in Colombia, entertaining epistolary contacts and funding support for the missions of Caquetá and especially by offering his suffering and prayers to the Lord for those people whom he always carried in his heart. In recent months, his health was steadily worsening and thus he was transferred to the long-term care of the clinic San Lorenzo in Cesena where on August 8, 2015 he returned to the Father’s House. His body rests in the cemetery in Cesena. Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc

56 BROTHER ROBERTO ZANCHETTIN (1950-2015)

Personal data and activities 30-09-1950: born in Verzuolo (Cuneo) 1956- 1961: grammar school in Verzuolo 1962- 1968: middle schools in Saluzzo, Torino, Montebelluna 15-09-1969: Temporary Profession at the Certosa di Pesio 1970- 1975: studies and Surveyor Diploma in Torino 14-08-1975: Perpetual Profession in Torino 1976- 1985: Constructions and upkeep of the buildings in Bafvabaka, Isiro, Kisangnani, Bangadi, Wamba. 1986- 1991: a helper in the Legal Office in Torino 1992- 1997: In charge of the buildings maintenance and of the carpentry in Mujwa 1998- 2013: different services at the Mother House in Torino 2014- 2015: Joseph Allamano House - Alpignano 09-08-2015: died in Alpignano 11-08-2015: buried in the cemetery in Alpignano

Humble and faithful servant Roberto joined the Brothers’ House in Alpignano after having attended the Professional Technical Institute for three years. After making his first religious profession he continued his formation in our Theological Seminary and at the same time he achieved his Surveyor Diploma. His formators described him as a young man who strongly felt the need for sincerity, having personal and clear ideas though he was not always capable of manifesting them. He had a strong sense of responsibility and duty. Excellent was his commitment to his studies always achieving very satisfactory results. He showed commitment to his spiritual formation even though sometimes he had some difficulty understanding the importance of a life of prayer. He meant to be coherent also with his self donation to religious life, especially collaborating in his formation to obedience. He strived to understand its positive and

57 constructive role in community life. On the pastoral level, although he did not have any firm commitment, he always participated in the life and activities of the parish. He generously offered his contribution when there was a need in some pastoral activities or meetings with young people on the occasion of missionary days or missionary animation. He had a real interest in the missions and a keen desire to be sent to missionary work. He was open to ongoing formation and mission rotation, as part of his missionary life. To the proposal of the Direzione Generale to assign him to the Group of Zaire, Brother Roberto replied: “I say immediately that I fully agree with your proposal about my possible assignment to Zaire and to be willing to leave immediately. For quite some time I wanted to ask if an assignment was possible for me; I was just held back by the fact that I am about to finish a period of practice in the office of a professional to gain some experience and that will end in September. As for my departure for the mission, allow me to present my plan to you: towards the end of June I would go to Belgium to perfect my French; in September I will make my perpetual profession, then I will have a short holiday and afterwards I will make the qualification exam to be enrolled in the Surveyors Register; early next yearI shall leave for Zaire” (19-05-1975). He reached Kinshasa in February of the following year and remained in Zaire for almost ten years. He spent the first six months in Wamba for language study, being also useful in various services to the mission. His first experience as a surveyor started in Bafvabaka where he was involved in the direction of the construction of various structures. Practically this has always been the activity that he has carried out in the other missions: the repair of the house in Isiro, the construction of the seminary in Kisangani, the supervision of the works in Bangadi, in Wamba and in Bunia for the seminary, a mechanic and an attendant in the Isiro house. In addition to supervising the works, in many cases he was also in charge of the financial management. For him they were intense years, weighed down by the lack of technical means and problems arising from the incompetence of the staff. But Brother Roberto did not give up when faced with difficulties. The structures built or renovated have contributed greatly to the development of many missionary activities in Zaire. Those years have strongly marked the health of Brother Roberto: the humidity of the climate undermined his bones that were affected till the end of his life. Back in Italy he was available to the legal office in Turin, delivering or withdrawing documents and following the procedures for obtaining documents that required confidentiality and attention. In 1992 he returned to Africa, to Kenya, and for six years he supervised the construction works and directed the carpentry in the mission of Mujwa. Despite his desire to stay at the forefront, the state of his health convinced his superiors to recall him to Italy. For fifteen years he served in precious tasks in the Mother House. In particular, he has offered to cooperate in the radical reorganization of the General Library implemented by Father Antonio Giordano who described the contribution made by Brother Roberto with these words:

58 “When in 1998 I began the work of the General Library, he was the first one to volunteer to help me out, perhaps because he had the time, perhaps because he was very fond of books, perhaps because he hoped to train somewhat in the use of the computer. Whatever the reason, for me it was a relief: I shared immediately my work with him and gave him a copy of all the keys of the Library. Gladly he accepted this act of trust and made himself available for any work that was required. Here, in the General Library, he must have pasted the labels bearing the name and location of the book on at least 90,000 volumes, out of 105,000 found in the Library at the present; a totally hidden work, done with the greatest precision. Likewise he took upon himself the task of filling with water the trays placed on the approximately forty radiators of the Library so that during the winter the heat of the heating system would keep the right amount of moisture for the books. It was a hard work that was repeated twice a week. Our dear Roberto left in the General Library of the Institute his indelible imprint, made of kindness, smile, work and patience, both with himself (he never got angry for not being able to do some work, he would have simply tried a second time), and with the others whom he always left with a serene smile and the wish: “you will see that tomorrow you will succeed.” To all this Brother Roberto has added other services for the Mother House: timely and accurate in sorting newspapers, magazines and letters which then he arranged to deliver to their respective offices or place them in the personal mailboxes in the dining room, for which he had become the community mailman. For years he supervised the cleaning of the courtyards of the Mother House and the transport of the waste containers until Via Cialdini to download them in the truck of Amiat, thus earning the title of garbage man of the community. In 2013 the health of Brother Roberto gave worrying signs, he was no longer his very self, his forces were no longer those of before. He retired to the Blessed Allamano House in Alpignano where he offered his suffering and his prayers for the mission to which he had devoted his life. On August 9, 2015, the Lord called him to receive the reward reserved for his faithful servants. His body rests in the cemetery in Alpignano. The life of Brother Roberto can teach us many things. Among all, the great lesson that mission is getting your hands dirty, is dedication and manual labour, is made of small services performed well, with dedication and love, in concealment and discretion. It is the practical translation of Jesus’ teaching (Mk. 9, 35). Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc

Brother ROBERTO ZANCHETTIN

I had met Brother Roberto in Kenya several times even though we had never worked together, but I received his first confidence at Fiumicino, in the national airport, waiting to leave for Torino. At that time I worked in the Casa Generalizia, editor of the Da Casa Madre and he had just arrived from Nairobi. The Vice Superior General had asked me to accompany him by airplane to Torino since it was not

59 convenient for him to travel alone. Thus we were there in the waiting area of the national flights having one hour at our disposal. I started chatting about the missions in Congo, where I knew I had worked for many years… little by little I got to know his firm conviction that the climate of Congo had ruined his health for good. I looked at him somewhat surprised but with an air of mocking I said to him: “You are not yet forty, you still have much time to rebuild your health, supposing that what you are saying is true”. He looked at me attempting a smile that was not spontaneous and he almost declared: “The humidity of the climate of Congo has penetrated into my bones and it will be with till my death which will be rather soon”. Unaware of medicine, I changed subject looking at the future: “At Saluzzo the native climate will give you new life”. We arrived at Caselle where Brother Volpato Guerino was waiting for us and he brought us to the two rooms that the Superior of the Mother House had arranged for us. When I too returned from Kenya, being assigned to work in the Mother House, I again met with pleasure Roberto. He had arrived in the Mother House a few months earlier and I noticed that he was carrying out the task of “Ecological co-operator” which he kiddingly called “garbage man”, bringing the garbage containers on to the road to be emptied the following morning into the garbage trucks. I used to see him from the window of the secretary’s office, unseen by him, while he was putting all his strength to push them out of the slight slope leading to the passage of the arcade that separates the two yards and then lead them to the exit gate on Via Bruino.

Besides it was him who also regularly brought the paper, double issues of magazines, some double and useless copies of books to the room of “Cartesio” on the day when he knew that the truck would go to pick up the paper. Good Roberto, how many trips you made up and down the four flights of stairs and there was no lift! Besides this work he learned the use of the Excel program that we were using to make a list of the articles of the missionary magazines, for a possible search of the contents. He immediately offered to make the list of the items of the three magazines in French: Pentecote sur le monde, Peuples du monde and Lumen Vitae. The French he had learned when he was in Congo became quite useful. It was true to this commitment until the end. In addition he was the gofer of the Library and of all the Fathers that turned to him for this service. How often he went out happy to buy string to tie the vintages magazines, paper and adhesive tapes to mend smashed books, pens, pencils and pens, and he would always find the right one that suited the occasion. He often went also to the pharmacy to buy medicine for the missionaries or accompanied them to the market to buy clothing and shoes. Personally I remembered him at Mass and remember him with such nostalgic affection with his own encouragement: “You will see that through the goodness of the Lord you will be able to enter Paradise.” Fr. Antonio Giordano, imc

60 FATHER ALESSANDRO BUSNELLO (1942-2015)

Personal data and activities 08-05-1942: born in Pederobba (Treviso) 1948- 1953: grammar schools in Pederobba 1953- 1958: High School in Biadene (Treviso) 1959- 1961: Lyceum in Varallo Sesia (Vercelli) 02-10-1962: Temporary Profession in Rosignano Monferrato 1963- 1967: Theology in Torino 02-10-1966: Perpetual Profession in Torino 31-12-1967: Priestly Ordination in Pederobba 1968- 1974: Assistant Parish Priest-Director of seminarians and Superior in Milano 1974- 1975: Assistant Parish Priest in San Francisco (Argentina) 1976- 1978: Novice Master of the Novitiate in Pirané 1979- 1984: Regional Superior of Argentina 1985- 1986: House Superior in Bevera (Italy) 1987- 1995: Parish Priest in Pirané (Argentina) 1996- 1998: Superior of the Regional House in Buenos Aires 1999- 2002: Pastoral work in S. Francisco, Merlo and Regional Councillor 2003- 2008: Administrator and Parish Priest in San Salvador de Jujuy 2009- 2014: Various services in Martin Coronato-Mendoza-Buenos Aires 13-08-2015: Died in Buenos Aires 15-08-2015: His body rests in the cemetery (Jardìn de paz) in Buenos Aires

“A great Missionary” Fr. Alessandro entered our seminary in Biadene on September 20, 1953 where he finished High school and then he completed his formation curriculum in our various seminaries. His colleagues have always remembered him as a student who loved reading, gifted with artistic and musical gifts which besides being useful to the community also made him pleasant to live with. After his priestly ordination he was assigned to Milan as Superior and Formator of a small community of our students of Theology, being at the same time

61 involved in an intense pastoral work to also contribute to meet the various expenses. He succeeded to set up a group of friends and sympathizers; in the end it turned out to be a much positive pastoral experience. Three years later he was offered the proposal of a destination to Kenya and he immediately got busy learning the language and the culture of that Country, but after a short time he had to resign to the idea of remaining in Milan since no one was found to replace him. On August 1973 he manifested to the Superior General the desire of going to work in Doruma (Zaire), listing the reasons for such choice: the newness of the field of work, being already acquainted with the confreres working there and with the French language which he knew fairly well. Unfortunately his request could not be welcomed because for the last two years Fr. Alessandro had been suffering for a bad stomach ulcer. He was able to accomplish his missionary dream the following year. He began his work in Argentina as Assistant Parish Priest in San Francisco. After four months, thanking the Superior General for his assignment he gladly stated that “He was quickly running the stages towards his full integration into the life of the Region”. He had achieved to be so well integrated in the life of the Region that just a year later he could take up the task of parish priest and even that more delicate work as Novice Master of the Novitiate in Pirané. He lived three years of intense activity. In Pirané he has really left a piece of his heart: educating young people by transmitting to them his singing and artistic skills. Indeed Father Alessandro revealed his inventive qualities since the early years of seminary: he had an artistic sense in both the sacred and in the profane. From 1978 to 1984 he was Superior of the Region of Argentina. His brothers greatly appreciated his service, carried out with great diligence and attention to the missionaries and their activities, for his ability in dealing with the problems and rebuild fraternity when conflicts could arise. The experience done in the formation field, tested in two continents, his positive ten-year stay in Argentina along with his ability to dialogue, especially shown during his service as Regional Superior, constituted an evident guarantee that he could carry out his office as Superior and Formator in the Region of Italy. Therefore he was assigned to the seminary in Bevera where for two years he guided that community. But his heart was in Argentina. Back to that Country he was entrusted with the task of Parish Priest in Pirané, a land much loved by him and where he was able to carry out an intense ministry for ten years. That assignment was for him as a medicine that re-animated him with new energies employed for the human and spiritual growth of children, young men, for the care of the sick, with the collaboration of the Consolata Missionary Sisters. Above all he had the joy of cultivating a deep and brotherly friendship with Fr. Domenico Viola. He continued his commitments as Superior of the Regional House in Buenos Aires, in his pastoral activities in San Francisco and in Merlo, Assistant Parish Priest in Jujuy, collaborator in the seminary of San Miguel, in the parish in Mendoza and in 2014 as Vice Regional Superior.

62 For some time Fr. Alessandro manifested annoying problems that made every work strenuous and his discomfort was quite visible. At the beginning of 2015 his diagnosed prostate glance worsened. The biopsy made evident the presence of cancer. At the same time he began to feel severe pain in the arm and in the right shoulder blade. The doctor ordered a CT of the chest which revealed the existence of stains in the lung and spine. He was given a special treatment and strong pain killers. In July his condition plummeted alarmingly: prostate cancer and bone and lung metastases. He underwent intensive therapy and the use of the artificial respirator. Any attempt proved ineffective and on Aug. 13th Fr. Alessandro returned to the Father’s House. Communicating the sad news to the brothers, the Regional Superior of Argentina, Father Antonio Gabrieli, among other things wrote: “All loved him and above all appreciated him. Very many are the witnesses of love and appreciation that have arrived during these days from the parish communities where he had worked: Pirané (Formosa), Alto Comedero (Jujuy), Mendoza... he has chosen to die here in Argentina, close to the people whom he loved and for whom he had spent his life. We are missionaries “ad vitam”. Also we ourselves were here, his friends, his missionary confreres who have appreciated him and through their missionary work have shared the happy and sad hours of brotherly life. We have received much from him. Fr. Alessandro has always had much attention to all of us, his confreres. Truly he used to enjoy cooking, but he made it also with a spirit of service and I believe also with the desire that everybody could feel at home. He knew the tastes of each of us and took advantage of the time for eating in order to promote encounter and brotherhood; because the brother who was returning tired from his commitments, work or meetings, could find rest and welcome; and not only with delicious dishes prepared with a lot of details, like a real chef, but also telling the mission, remembering in such a nice way the things that happened in the mission. Thus meal times were extended in listening to many episodes full of experienced missionary life, making the history of the Region and the life of the missionaries known to the young people. It was his way of teaching the mission to young people. Sometimes he scolded him who, in order to compliment him, said that he was a good cook; he would immediately correct, saying that he would have preferred him to say that he was a good missionary. And he was so. Among other things he wrote a summary of our history in Argentina. A work of an historian appreciated by all and which he, all the years, shared with the novices so that they might know the Region Argentina and could appreciate the work done by many zealous missionaries. Many remember him for his sermons. Even on the day of the funeral, after the mass a person approached me to tell me that he remembered especially his beautiful sermons: simple and profound, the result of long experience of missionary life. He has truly been a great missionary. Personally I have to thank him because he has always been close to me. He was the one who received me here in Argentina and introduced me to the mission. I shared with him my years of pastoral work in the Parish of the Miraculous Medal in Alto Comedero, in the parish of Mercy in Mendoza, in the service to the Region. I could enjoy his advice and moments of important discernment, but above all his friendship.

63 I was able to accompany him in his last days. When I could not be at his bedside I was told that he was calling me. Renato who sometimes has assisted him has witnessed from his mouth a phrase that has stuck with me “Antonio, life is beautiful!” His body rests in the cemetery (Jardìn de paz) in Buenos Aires. Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc

T E S T I M O N I A L

Father Alessandro was a missionary who loved a land of endless horizons. In Argentina he has lived and fostered the charism of Allamano in the formation of young people. With his and humble friendly presence he knew how to dialogue with everyone, especially with those who approached him for advice or material help. He was an exemplary priest and religious, a jovial missionary. He had a special art in living together with the brothers, with the people and especially with young people. As Regional Superior he never imposed things, but dialogued, counselled, communicated a provision which he first applied to himself and he wanted that it be realized for the good of all. He was the servant, the collaborator even in small matters. He made himself be loved by everyone even if he knew that his confrere held the opposite opinion. He was not a man of great speeches, but his charity reached where there was a need. He lived a long period of his missionary life in Pirané with Fr. Domenico Viola, a man righteous before God and men. In this communion of life he has been able to express the best of himself. A shepherd who was always present, caring, enjoying to be with people, listening, analysing their problems, aware that the time devoted to the poor was a gift offered to God. The parish house was a real oratory. Being with young people, accompanying them, playing with them, reading and commenting on the Gospel, working with them was the most acceptable and pleasant life together. He knew that sometimes the screams and noise of musical instruments, played loud by the young people were creating some discomfort to the religious community, but he knew how to recompose serenity. He visited the families, preparing meetings of Christian formation; he was assiduous in visiting the chapels, sharing the bread of the Word and of the Eucharist and being close to the poor, the spiritually and materially needy. He loved the Institute as a family that had provided everything for him in order to accomplish his life, aware that in the mission he had completed what he had received in formation. For Fr. Alessandro, knowing a new culture and living it with the people was giving glory to God for the good of the brothers. Fr. Silvio Lorenzini, IMC

64 FATHER FRANCO CELLANA (1947-2015)

Personal data and activities 01-10-1942: Born in Tiarno di Sopra (Trento) 1948- 1953: Grammar School in Tiarno di Sopra 1954- 1958: High School in Rovereto and in Biadene 1959- 1961: Lyceum in Varallo Sesia 02-10-1962: Temporary Profession in Rosignano Monferrato 02-10-1965: Perpetual Profession in Torino 1963 -1967: Theology in Torino and in Madrid 17-12-1967: Priestly Ordination in Madrid 1968- 1972: Administrator and Vice Rector in Madrid 1973- 1974: Superior and Animator in Valladolid 1975- 1977: Regional Administrator in Madrid 1978- 0000: A student in London and in Kipalapala (Tanzania) 1979- 1981: Assistant Parish Priest in Matembwe (Tanzania) 1982- 1988: Regional Administrator in Tanzania 1989- 1990: Parish Priest in Igwachanya (Tanzania) 1991- 1993: Director of CAM in Torino 1883- 1999: General Councillor 2000- 2006: Pastoral work in the Consolata Parish in Nairobi 2007- 2011: Regional Superior of Kenya 2012- 2013: Parish Priest in Wamba 2014- 2015: Periodical hospitalizations in Milano 24-09-2015: Died in Milano 27-09-2015: Buried in the cemetery in Tiarno di Sopra

Volcanic Missionary Those who have known him or worked with him say that Father Cellana was a “volcanic” missionary. Even his formators who had accompanied him up to his

65 Priestly Ordination described him so: “Great missionary spirit, open, cordial, active and very communicative, prone to get involved; he is a valuable individual both for his skills and his personal attitudes”. Having done his philosophy studies and three years of theology in our Seminary in Torino he then completed his formation in the Pontifical University Comillas in Madrid, obtaining a Licence in Theology. In Spain where he had been ordained to the Priesthood he began his activities which went on for the following eight years. He has been a Formator in our seminary, committed for four years to missionary animation being also Administrator of the Delegation. He soon gave evidence of his generosity in carrying out his tasks: he gave new vitality to missionary animation through the renewal of the missionary magazine Antena Misionera and its promotion, encouraging meetings with the other missionaries in order to evaluate and plan their activities and share their various experiences. He started the “flying” and the permanent missionary exposition to show the missionary work of the Institute. He worked with great dedication but he also strongly felt the desire of using his energies on the first line and therefore he wrote to the Superior General asking for an assignment to the missions, expressing also some of his preferences though remaining open to any decision of the Superiors. He manifested his preferences so: Ethiopia, for its environmental, pastoral and ecumenical situation etc. – Marsabit which had been visited by him and for its work, climate, poverty - Tanzania, Caquetà, Argentina. In 1977 he was assigned to Tanzania where he remained for the thirteen years. He was Assistant Parish Priest in Matembwe, Regional Administrator and Parish Priest in Igwachanya. As an administrator, in a regional meeting, he made a synthetic presentation of all his activities. Given the fact that in the 30 missionary centres the apostolic and pastoral thrust had never failed, he underlined the commitment and attention to be placed to support even economically the catechists, the training of young people and women, child care, the organization of the warehouse, the setting up of a central petrol station, the purchase of two trucks with trailers for the transport of materials in the region, the opening and development of dispensaries, technical and sewing schools. Quite a big job! Thus it becomes understandable the praise expressed by the Secretary of the Revolution Party of the Njombe region in his farewell speech for Fr. Franco who had been transferred to Italy. The Secretary, addressing the community in Igwachanya where Fr. Franco had been working as Parish Priest for three years, asked them: “Who is Fr. Franco Cellana for you?” The answers were multiplied: “Father Franco is our baba (father) who loves everybody: children, young people, adults, elderly; he is the type of baba who does not discriminate on account of the colour of the skin, religion... he is the one who serves us in body and spirit... Baba Franco is humble, simple, happy and good... he is available to all and at any time... he is the good Samaritan for those in need... he is the consoler of those who are sad, sick or poor... an untiring worker who hates laziness, robbery and the other sins... he is a flag, an example to be imitated”.

66 After mentioning in details the things done by Fr. Franco, the Secretary of the Revolution Party concluded: “Dear Baba Franco, thanks for all you have done for us. You can witness how the people have improved in body and spirit. You are holy like the holy virgins of the Gospel who filled their lamps with oil so as to be present at the wedding feast. Your lamp has always been lit on the candelabrum. We shall continue our friendship. We are deeply grateful to you. Considering our humble and precarious condition we leave to God the task of blessing and protecting you. May God fill you with joy also in Italy”. For two years he was the director of the Missionary Animation Centre in Torino and in 1993 the General Chapter elected him General Councillor of the Institute. Also in this service he carried out activities of missionary animation with his characteristic enthusiasm till the time when a tragic event took place which temporarily interrupted his plans and personal enthusiasm. On April 4, 1994, in the house of his sister in Trento, while taking a shower, he suffered an epileptic attack; he remained unconscious for nearly an hour under the hot water that caused him severe burns in a large area of the body. A real ordeal began for Fr. Franco, who in two years had to undergo sixteen plastic surgeries. He went on to make appropriate therapies for the rest of his life. In this sad affair he has shown exceptional fortitude: he knew how to accept in faith this ordeal and despite it he started again his activities. Towards the end of 1999, when he finished his term as General Councillor he worked as a collaborator in our Consolata parish in Nairobi. He was engaged in the battle of the land for the poorest, in a movement that would practically unite all the slums. He reflected, fantasized and consulted with others for the realization of a project that would really offer a definite solution to the conditions of those poor people. Among the projects dreamed and achieved stood out that of a hospital for the poor living in the Kenyan capital. It was a health care facility open to the needy, built in a strategic area on the northern outskirts of Nairobi, with clinics and the emergency room, a maternity ward and an operating room, as well as useful space for thirty beds for inpatients. A structure created to accommodate the poor of the slums and of the crumbling agglomerations of the metropolis and combat major diseases, including malaria and filarial sickness, infectious and lung diseases, intestinal viruses and, not least, HIV and AIDS. In 2007 he was elected Superior of the Region of Kenya. They were five intense years for Fr. Franco: pastoral initiatives, relations with civil and religious authorities, meetings with the confreres and with the people on the occasion of his visits to the missions, commitment to the formation of our candidates for the priesthood. His last field of work has been the mission in Wamba where he started various projects during his two years of stay, despite the fact that he felt an evident decrease of his physical energies and considerable disorders for which he was repeatedly advised to return to Italy for appropriate medical checkups. In early 2014, the Cancer Centre of Milan diagnosed a cancer of the oesophagus and of the liver. After six months of chemotherapy the metastases were reduced in the liver, while the mass of the oesophagus remained stable.

67 During the hospital stay he composed a prayer to the Consolata, full of trust and affection, in which among other things he implored: “O Blessed Virgin Mary, you who have given the world as a Mother the true consolation, Jesus Christ, listen today the prayer and supplication that I wish to address to you whom we venerate with the sweet title of “Consolata”. Console the pope, the bishops, the priests, the religious and all the missionaries, so that they may bring the light to our modern society.... Console nations, peoples, and the many families who love you and worship you... Console those who are sick, the multitudes of migrants, the unemployed, the suffering, those who bear in body and soul the wounds caused by wars, oppression and injustice. Mother of consolation, today listen to the humble prayer which I raise to you with all my heart, while I am asking you to bless, to visit and to touch with your motherly hand, the person, the family, the sick that I am recommending to you. Most Holy Lady Consolata, give me the skills of listening, serenity, your faith at the foot of the cross, so that I may faithfully follow with love and joy your Son Jesus. Amen”. In December of 2014, the team of Chartered presented him with a new proposal for experimental treatments of chemotherapy. After consulting with various specialists in Turin, Florence, Bolzano, Trento and Nairobi, having received a favourable opinion from his own family, he signed the proposal of the new therapy and began the scheduled treatment. Despite his precarious conditions, with the permission of his Doctors, in July 2015 he returned to Wamba, for three weeks, in order to control a series of new activities in progress, do the handing over to his successor and greet the people who did not fail to give him a warm welcome. In August he made his last visit to his beloved Trento valley to enthuse and greet his relatives and the many friends who for so many years had concretely collaborated in the numberless initiatives made to help the poor and the marginalised. In September he returned to the National Institute for the research on cancer in Milano where his health conditions gradually worsened and then in the early morning of September 24, 2015, Fr. Franco returned to the Father’s House. One of the members of the two associations “Friends of Father Franco” and “Africa Rafiki”, announcing the sad news of the departure of Fr. Cellana wrote: “One of the active and historical missionaries of the Consolata Missionary Institute in Africa, where he worked for over thirty years, has died; one with a character of great charisma who has spent his life in the world of the dispossessed. His charisma has urged many to work in Africa or for Africa. His charisma has conquered us all”. His mortal remains are kept in the cemetery of Tiarno di Sopra. Fr. Ernesto Tomei, imc

Please note: In order to avoid making this number of our Official Bulletin too heavy, the memory of our confreres who passed away after 1st October will be presented in the next Bulletin nº 152.

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