In Pace Christi

Fr. Raffaele Dellagiacoma (23.10.1935 – 12.04.2007)
Fr. Raffaele Dellagiacoma was born on 23 October 1935 in a very Christian family of Pozza di Fassa in the region of Trent, Italy. Two of his brothers also became Comboni Missionaries, while one brother and a sister joined the Society of St. John Bosco.
Fr. Raffaele entered the minor seminary at Trento, moving later to Brescia. In 1951 he entered the novitiate at Gozzano and, during the first year, was sent to Sunningdale (England) to continue his novitiate and to learn English. He took his first vows on 9 September 1953. Seeing that he was such a talented student, he was chosen to study theology in Rome.
After his ordination on 2 April 1960, he was assigned to Arua diocese in Uganda. His first experience was in the recently opened junior seminary of Pokea. Mgr. Angelo Tarantino had him stay at the bishop's house as his secretary.
Fr. Raffaele always had the desire to learn new things, so he followed a course in anthropology at Oxford University “to study the African culture better”. Later, again during one of his home holidays, he arranged to attend London University, where he obtained a BA in English and an MA in Sociology with a research paper on the Comboni Institute. His English was very good, precise and with a rich vocabulary. He qualified in less than a year, since Mgr. Tarantino was urging him to return to Uganda. When he did, besides working in the bishop’s office, he helped out in pastoral work in several parishes, particularly Oluvo. In the 1980s he was appointed vice rector and teacher at the Alokolum Major Seminary. He also helped for a while with the Lay Helpers, a secular Institute in Arua diocese.
In 1989 he was asked to take over the Leadership magazine. As he never liked to improvise, he asked for and did a course on Journalism in London. Back in Uganda, he was editor of Leadership from 1993 till 1999. In that year he was sent to Arua diocese as the Religious Education Coordinator and chaplain of Ombaci College. During this time he tried to strengthen the Movement of Catholic Professionals in Arua town. In 2001 he was back to Leadership. For some time he was also chaplain at the Nakawa University Business School, where Cardinal Wamala had entrusted him with the project of building a Catholic Chaplaincy, providing important facilities like the church and the library. Later on he handed this work over to a new chaplain.
As a person he had a nice character and he was easy to go along with. He was rather quiet and never showed off his knowledge and experience. In a gathering, he would happily talk and joke with others, though, after a short time, he would become absorbed in reading a book. A man of great uprightness and honesty, in our meetings he would hold to the truth without fuss, but also not giving in to please others.
He was a great and fast reader. He could tell the content of a book even without reading all the pages. He could see clearly the different aspects of a problem, and suggest a solution. He seldom defended his point of view too strongly, preferring to hear the opinion of others.
In January 2006, Fr. Raffaele began to feel unwell. He complained of feeling too tired and asked to be replaced as editor of Leadership. The provincial advised him to anticipate his home holidays and to go for a well deserved rest and a thorough check-up. He did not agree with the suggestion, as he had planned to go on home leave later on in the year, when he could meet with his Salesian sister who was working in Ecuador. So Fr. Raffaele tried to hold on, but in March he felt serious discomfort, although for a while he chose to play it down. When he finally went to see a doctor, he told him that there was some fluid in his liver, which was thought to be the result of bilharzia. However, after a week the doctor confirmed that it was cancer of the liver and advised him to go to Europe for treatment.
At the end of March, Fr. Raffaele left Uganda for Italy where he underwent various tests. After some weeks the doctors confirmed that it was a malignant liver cancer and that there was not much they could do for him. He accepted this with a strong spirit of faith and put himself in God's hands, ready for the final outcome. He remembered his two brothers, Fr. Vittorino and Fr. Carlo, who had died of cancer at the age of 71. He concluded that for him too, being also 71 years old and affected by cancer, it seemed the right time to return to the Father. He shared a lot about his missionary life which he didn’t regret. He was happy to have served the Lord and God’s people as best as he could. He truly had given his whole self, like the wick of a candle burnt down to its last to give light to others.
During his last year of life, at Mbuya in Kampala, many people came to be updated about Fr Raffaele’s health. They were coming from all places and social classes who knew him and who wanted to express their gratitude for all he had done for them. Some had being successful in life and came to say that they owned it to him. The poor and the students he had sponsored came to say that it was through him they managed to go through college or to survive in life. Now that he was away, he was missed very much by all.
Back in his hometown, in his family home, surrounded by people who loved, cared and prayed for him, looking at the silent beauty of the Dolomite mountains, he got some strength back and for a while he dreamt of returning to the mission. But God had a different plan. The illness slowly and inexorably kept weakening his body and reducing his strength. He died in his parent’s home on 12 April 2007. The confreres from Uganda are grateful to him for his great work, constant commitment and sharp judgment. We are grateful to his family that has given to the Comboni Institute three remarkable Comboni Missionaries. While we all miss him, we are also sure that Fr. Raffaele, as he promised, will intercede for peace for the people of Uganda.
(Fr. Giuseppe Filippi)
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 236 suppl. In Memoriam, ottobre 2007, pp. 32-38.