In Pace Christi

Bro. Alfonso Segato was born in Dueville, Vicenza, on 19 July 1920. At age 20 he took his first vows in Venegono and, after serving in Italy for nine years, went to spend a year in Zahle, Lebanon. From 1950 to 1955 he worked in Cairo, Egypt. Back in Italy, he worked for six years at Thiene and Milan. In 1961 he left for Mexico where he remained until 1989, offering his missionary service in La Paz, Santa Rosalia, Cuernavaca and Bahía Tortugas.
In 1990 he returned to Rebbio, Italy, where he remained till his death.
This is what Bro. Giuseppe Menegotto writes about him: “In 1961, after several years of service in Italy and in Egypt, Bro. Alfonso arrived in Mexico where he remained for 28 years, about 20 of which spent working in Baja California. I got to know him well at the “Ciudad de los Niños” of La Paz where he was with Fr. Carlo Toncini, director of the Ciudad and parish priest of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Bro. Alfonso felt at home, since there was enough work for everyone and he had the opportunity to be in charge of various activities and projects.
“At the shrine he took care mostly of the liturgy and the altar servers, activities to which he felt particularly attracted. At the Ciudad he took care mostly of the carpentry and mechanics, lending an artistic touch to the workshops.
“He was also very involved in sports, both organized and recreational, as activities in which to involve the boys of the ‘Ciudad’. I remember him as a good referee, especial during soccer games, since he had the advantage of being a little deaf. He was sparing us and himself from having to take embarrassing decisions, because he very seldom blew the whistle and, when we complained, he would simply say: ‘I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!’
“To close this brief sketch, on the basis of what I got to know about Bro. Alfonso, I can say that he distinguished himself for his intelligence and liveliness. He could find the humorous side of any situation, both of those not too important and of those that were painful, such as not being able to go back to Egypt. He spent the last years of his life in Rebbio, alternating joyful moments and sad moments, carrying his cross up to the day when the Lord called him.
“A Brother, whom we loved and remember with affection, has gone. May he rest in peace as he awaits the resurrection.”