In Pace Christi

Bro. Erminio Caldarola, born on 4 April 1907, took his first vows in Venegono in 1930. From 1930 to 1939 he worked in South Sudan, then for seven years he worked in Rebbio, Italy. Having returned to South Sudan, he worked there for another 10 years. After that, he returned to Italy where he was assigned to Padova and Arco (rest-home for elderly confreres) and then to the Mother House in Verona where, starting in 1999, he was under medical care and where he died. These are the sketchy details of his missionary service carried out in humility and commitment, in faithfulness to and perseverance in the Institute till the end.

Let us listen to the acknowledgement of two confreres who knew him well. Their recollections refer mostly to Bro. Erminio’s two experiences in South Sudan, namely the years 1930-1939 and 1946-1956 in the prefecture of Mupoi, among the Zande people. Bro. Erminio had assimilated the soul and culture of the Zande and enjoyed speaking in their language with confreres who knew it and were on holidays in Italy visiting him in Verona. What we report below have the flavour of the early days of missionary life.

The first testimony is from Fr. Igino Benini, who writes:

“I reached Nzara, coming from Naandi, in early January 1951. Here Bro. Erminio had been living and working for about a month, a true Milanese and a mission veteran from the great mission of Yubu. We were due to open together the mission of Nzara. We lived in a little two-room house with a veranda protected by a mosquito net, because the area was infested with mosquitoes from the swamps of the nearby Yubu river. We lived in poverty, like the workers at the nearby cotton gin. Bro. Erminio was busy all day with his workers building a small residence, while I was busy organising the pastoral work of the mission. We met for morning prayers, breakfast at 9.30 a.m., lunch at 2.30 p.m., then again for Mass and supper. After supper, if we did not have visitors, we would spend about an hour to share news of the day, plans, etc. For me it was a good time to learn lots of things from Bro. Erminio’s experience, a true sharing on inculturation, customs, traditions of the people, language and precious tips for my pastoral work.

His was the “old Brothers’ lifestyle”, always busy, overworked, a little grumpy, always careful not to waste Providence’s gifts. Bro. Erminio was a mature person, happy in his missionary vocation and happy to have given his life for the missions.”

The second testimony is from Fr. Luigi Parisi, who writes:

“I treasure the memory of my first encounter with Bro. Erminio when I went to Africa the first time in 1950. A few days after my arrival, I reached Tombora around noon, where Bro. Erminio was living with Fr. Vittorio Riva. As I entered the mission compound, my first impression was that it looked very poor, since it was still in its beginnings. The meeting with Fr. Vittorio and Bro. Erminio was very friendly, a real feast. I enjoyed seeing how happy they were in their poverty and full of enthusiasm, even in the midst of great hardships involved in the opening of a new mission. They received us with joy and placed on the table the best of what they had. Later Bro. Erminio showed me his work and his projects to give me a complete picture on how the mission would develop. He was full of courage and enthusiasm, even though faced with great challenges.

My friendship with him never faltered and was renewed every time in the course of his long life we would meet in Italy. Our encounters were always friendly and I always admired his spirit of prayer, his love for work and his service”.