In Pace Christi

Bro. Abramo Sirtoli was born in Redona, Bergamo. At age 15 he joined the Comboni Missionaries with the clear purpose of becoming a Brother. We know that he had to struggle in order to follow his vocation. He spent the first few years in Thiene where he learned tailoring and carpentry, but then, later on in life, he ended up doing other jobs.
In 1952 and 1953 he was a novice in Florence and then in 1953 and 1954 we find him in Sunningdale, England. On 9 September 1954 he took his first vows and stayed in England for a while to work on Comboni building projects that, at that time, were flourishing. In 1956 he was back in Italy, but in 1957, after a short stay in Spain, he was finally able to leave for the missions.
His first and only assignment was the province of Ecuador where he was to spend most of his life. His stay in Latin America can be divided into three stages: Esmeraldas, for the first few years; Quito, the mature experience; Colombia, as formator of the Brothers at the CIF.
Bro. Sirtoli arrived in Ecuador at the very beginning of the Comboni Missionaries’ presence there, when everything had to be started. Those were difficult times, with meagre resources, and they had to adapt to whatever they could find. Today it is even hard to imagine how things were then. In Ecuador Bro. Sirtoli was also mission procurator, a position that put him in touch with many people.
He only returned to Italy for some holidays with his family: this is why in his own country he was practically unknown, while in Ecuador he was a personality that marked in a positive way the Comboni Brothers’ presence in that country.
In Ecuador, Bro. Sirtoli and Bro. Giuseppe Zordan were excellent points of reference for generations of Brothers: individuals well adjusted in their vocation, true missionaries who, in different ways, placed their consecration at the service of the people.
Bro. Sirtoli was well thought of because of his kindness in dealing with people. At times he bemoaned the fact that he had never been a missionary in the bush, because his superiors always wanted him in the city. Probably they had discovered his talents earlier on and always assigned him to communities that had many confreres passing through and where patience and availability were a must. One of Bro. Sirtoli’s traits was his ability to welcome people. Rich or poor, he dealt with all of them with the same respect and attention. Wherever he was stationed, people remembered him even after many years.
He knew Spanish very well and could play on words so as to create a friendly atmosphere. He had become a true Ecuadorian. He used his time to be with the people. He was extremely patient and always tried to please the confreres. At times he was reproached for being too accommodating. He knew how to appreciate the good done by others and forgive their faults. Often he would wait up, with a warm supper, for his brother priests who were returning home late from their ministry.
In Esmeraldas he worked at the Santa Cruz centre, a set of buildings designed by Bishop Angelo Barbisotti for the training of leaders of the Christian communities of the vicariate. There he shared community life with Fr. Raffaello Savoia. They were responsible for this centre that still functions.
For many years, Bro. Sirtoli was the superior of the provincial house in Quito, and was also the director of a private grade school belonging to the parish, which was then run by the Comboni Missionaries. For a time, he was also provincial procurator and treasurer, making up with his common sense for his deep aversion to numbers. Later on the accounting was handed over to Fr. Luigi Marro, while Bro. Sirtoli carried on with the other activities.
Bro. Sirtoli was also great in the kitchen: whenever he cooked, the provincial assemblies were more successful! Being a humble man, he never bragged about himself. He preferred to stay with the people as their brother, he took care of the poor, was a good listener, held his own in conversation, especially when he could share his experience of faith.
He had a word for everybody, and with the people he knew he loved to remember people and facts, thus renewing friendships. In this way, many doors were opened for the Comboni Missionaries. Whenever he went to the various government offices he spent more time greeting people than waiting for a signature on a document.
He worked a lot with the young people of the schools both in Esmeraldas and in Quito, but he cared above all for the formation of the Comboni seminarians and Brothers. He was a truly good man, patient and extremely charitable.
Bro. Umberto Martinuzzo writes: “I never saw him get upset, even when what he had to do was onerous: he often had to go from one government office to another, take a sick confrere to the doctor while at home the community was waiting for supper. For the time the Vatican’s permission allowed it, he was the appointed superior of the provincial house and, when it was repealed, he kept on being the superior with the silent assent of the Superior General.
Bro. Sirtoli was always available. He did not drive, so he had to ask other people for this service, but no one ever refused him, knowing that, if the Brother asked for this favour, it was for a serious reason.
His religious formation was still the one he had received in the novitiate, even though in the course of his life he had nurtured it: he used to read a lot, keep updated and pray. Through his life he projected a deep trust in God’s mercy.
He was gifted with a nice character, an optimist and always had a joke ready to minimise tense situations.
He taught us to love people and spend time with them without hurry, to love the Institute and to appreciate each confrere for what he was doing, always looking at the positive side. He taught us to love God as a Father who wants all of us to be brothers, without distinction.”
He returned to Italy in 2000 when health complications made him leave the front line. His illness turned into cancer, but it never impaired his serenity and his optimism. He died at the Ambrosoli Centre in Milan on 22 September 2004. After the funeral in the church of Our Lady of Fatima, the body was taken to his hometown for burial.
P. Lorenzo Gaiga, mccj
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 226 suppl. In Memoriam, aprile 2005, pp. 25-34.