In memory of Mons. Giovanni Migliorati (1942–2016)

The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by father Giovanni Baccanelli, a companion of Mons. Giovanni both in the early stages of formation and in the mission in Ethiopia. In his homily, in addition to recalling the years they spent together, he highlighted – drawing on a phrase from Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium (“I am a mission on this earth”, 273) — this very dimension embodied in the missionary life of the bishop: «Mission was the heart of his personality, his spirituality and his pastoral ministry».

After the celebration, there was a fraternal gathering, followed by the recitation of the Rosary in the parish courtyard for peace in the world and for the Comboni mission. This was followed by a testimony meeting in memory of the bishop in the new parish hall, with the participation of father Giuseppe Cavallini, editor of the magazine Nigrizia and for many years a missionary in Ethiopia, where he collaborated with Mons. Migliorati.

Father Giuseppe helped those present to grasp the reality of Ethiopia in the various periods of its recent history. It was in this context that Mons. Giovanni, first as a missionary priest and later as a bishop, lived and carried out his ministry. “He was a determined man, totally dedicated to building, collaborating and helping the local Church to grow. A connoisseur of the culture and of several local languages, he was able to combine wisdom and commitment in order to inculturate the Gospel in the heart of the people. One could say – using the new paradigm of mission that characterises today’s Comboni reflection — that Mons. Giovanni truly lived and committed himself to a ‘decolonial mission’, which aims to dismantle the racial, cultural and economic hierarchies inherited from colonialism.”

Mons. Migliorati died in Brescia at the age of 73, as a “good and faithful servant”, and his committed service continues to bear good fruit.

Father Girolamo Miante, mccj