In Pace Christi

Bro. Aldo Morandini was born on 30 December 1919 in Boscochiesanuova, Verona, the birthplace of the servant of God Sr. Marietta Scandola, the first sister called by Comboni to serve in the African Missions. A stone cutter and mason by trade, after his military service he decided to become a Comboni Missionary. Already at an early age he had felt a great attraction to the missions, but the deciding event was “God’s positive answer” to a specific request: “If my two brothers return safe and sound from Russia and from Germany, I will become a missionary.” The brothers returned from the war and he honoured his promise.

Having entered the noviciate of Gozzano in 1948, he took his first vows on 25 April 1951. While in Gozzano he had the opportunity to practice his trade as a mason and as an artist, because the house needed many urgent restructuring jobs. He also gave a lot of help to the construction of the grotto of the Blessed Mother in the park of the noviciate. He served for a time in Italy, at Pellegrina, and then he went to North-Eastern Brazil.

He was one of the pioneers there and can be considered one of the co-founders of that Comboni province. The Comboni Missionaries arrived in Balsas in 1952 and Bro. Aldo joined them a year later. He was then 35 years old. He worked at building the saw mill, the brick factory, the bishop’s house, the hospital, the seminary, the school, always giving the best of himself.

In 1958 he moved to Southern Brazil where he remained for the next 30 years, always busy in construction. He was a great worker and never wasted any time. He always prepared the plans first, then he reviewed them and finally carried them out faithfully. He built homes, churches and seminaries. He had become a specialist in terrazzo work to fashion objects that were of use both in the homes of the people and of the missionaries alike. He also erected a number of monuments to the Blessed Mother and to the Sacred Heart, taking inspiration from a sculpture of two hands almost joined together and holding the globe above which stood a cross. He was fond of saying: “We missionaries are the hands of God that hold up the world on which Christ reigns.”

Bro. Aldo knew how to make friends. In his room he kept hundreds of letters from people who used to write to him even after 20 years. He had a great heart and was willing to excuse people and show them kindness, even if they had made serious mistakes. He always searched for the truth.

He liked to read and to study. He studied astronomy, geology and other sciences. Another trait of his was his devotion to the Blessed Mother. In Verona, during one of his breaks from the mission, he built the grotto that still stands and also worked with Bro. Mario Adani on the monument of Comboni that we can see standing in the yard of the Mother House.

In 1999 he returned to Italy for good, due to his failing health. Whenever he was strong enough, he would go to the shipping room to help pack books, letters and magazines. Like the good Veronese he was, he always had a good joke to tell.

His real calvary started in September 2002, when he was rushed to the hospital in Borgo Trento for a haemorrhage. Four days later he returned home, but he was placed in the infirmary, as he was very weak. During a second hospitalisation in Bussolengo, from 1 to 15 November, he was diagnosed as having a lung tumour already at an advanced stage.

The last few weeks were particularly painful because of difficulty in breathing. What made a great impression was the serenity with which Bro. Aldo faced his illness. One day, towards the middle of October, he said: “I feel that I don’t have long to live. I have a lot of pain on my left side, but I am not afraid of dying. All I need now is to pray and get ready. But, you know, I am nearly there!” During the last bout with his illness he always held on to his rosary beads: “I have lost count of how many rosaries I say each day,” he said to one of the nurses working in the C.A.A. Truly serenity in the face of death is a gift the Lord grants to those who offer their lives in the service of their brothers and sisters for God’s sake.

We also have the testimony of a person from his home town, Sr. Valeria, who said: “I knew him as a direct and truthful person without hang-ups and who knew how to make lasting friendships. He knew people and called them by their name. He was blessed with a very good memory and a subtle sense of humour that made him very likeable. Whenever he met people, he welcomed them with joy. He was happy in his missionary vocation and proud of what he had done in the missions. If there were misunderstandings, he always cleared them up and soon all was forgotten.”

After the funeral at the Mother House he was buried in the cemetery of Verona, where many other Comboni Missionaries have been laid to rest.