In Pace Christi

Born at Ricengo (Crema) on 19 July, 1939, he joined the Comboni Missionaries when he was 29 years old, first at Gozzano where he did the first year of his novitiate before going to Sunningdale (UK), for the second year. He took his first vows in 1970.

He did the first three years of the scholasticate in Rome and the fourth in Kitgum, Uganda. He was ordained priest on 21 April, 1974, by the Bishop of Crema, Mgr. Carlo Manzania.

Fr. Alessandro spent the rest of his life as a missionary in Uganda in Gulu diocese, the oldest Comboni mission in Uganda, mother of all the Churches in North Uganda and inhabited by the Acholi.

Fr. Alessandro worked in various places: Namokora, Pajule, Padibe, Awach, Kitgum, Patongo and Opit. He died in the mission of Opit on 5 October, 2009, accidentally killed by a tame antelope which, taking him unawares gored him in the leg with his horns, cutting an artery.

When Fr. Alessandro arrived in Uganda for his last year of theology, this wonderful land was governed by the cruel Idi Amin who had deposed the then president Milton Obote. After many changes, rigged elections and other take-overs, Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986. Unfortunately, the history of independent Uganda was marked by a deep division between the people of the South, more numerous and economically prosperous, and those of the North. That division has not yet been healed. The North suffered greatly, especially in the Acholi districts where, for more than 17 years, the Lord’s resistance Army (LRA), headed by Joseph Kony, tyrannised and oppressed even the civilian population while the government forces were unable or unwilling to find a solution to the problem. This overview may help us to understand the difficult situation in which Fr. Alessandro and other missionaries and people with him, had to live with.

In his homily, Mgr. Oscar Cantoni, Bishop of Crema, said: “The missionary vocation involved him so much that he wanted to announce the gospel as a missionary ad vitam, in the missionary family of the Comboni Missionaries, a congregation born in Africa and for Africa. During these years, Fr Alessandro did not hesitate to extend a begging hand to relatives, fellow townsmen and parishes, also in our own diocese where he found many people who very generously supported him. He was struck by several diseases as well as times when he escaped certain death at the hands of the LRA who abducted him twice after they had murdered innocent people, committed acts of violence on women and forcibly enrolled numerous boys whom they stole from their families.

May the sacrifice of Fr. Alessandro bring about what, until now has seemed a dream for Africa, the coming of a reconciled world in Africa which is still disturbed by so much discord, tribal, social and religious”.

The mayor of Ricengo, the birthplace of Fr. Alessandro, spoke movingly to the people present at the funeral: “The news of his death left us with shock and disbelief. We immediately thought of the figure of the humble man, full of discreet and reserved gestures always accompanied by a sweet smile, serene and reassuring. He gave his life to the service of the poorest. To his beloved Uganda he gave all his energy. He never once gave in to a situation and never lost either courage or hope when all seemed lost. He loved his mission land so much that he chose to remain there always”.

Mgr. Giuseppe Filippi, his provincial since the year 2005, on the occasion of the funeral carried out at Opit, wrote: “The rebels stopped you on the road, abducted you and mistreated you but you never left your post among your people.

Every day for many years, like a good shepherd ready to die for his sheep, you shared completely in their lot and the dangers of their life.

Your door was always barred during the rebel attacks but always wide open to those who came to seek your help. They found not only your door but also your heart wide open to them, full of compassion and sympathy. You were most concerned for those suffering from AIDS and you gave them the best of yourself”.

We may end with the words of Fr. Alessandro himself who, when the symptoms of sickness were already evident, wrote from Ricengo: “I am so happy for the gift of faith which God granted me. I thank him for the gift of prayer and the joy he placed in my heart and the gift of serving the weakest, especially the sick… I thank everyone for having helped me and beg pardon for my faults. To all I send a warm embrace in the hope of meeting again, sooner or later”.
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 242 suppl. In Memoriam, ottobre 2009, pp. 59-64.