In Pace Christi

Fr. Manuel was a true Comboni pioneer. Born on 11 May, 1934, at Angangueo, Michoacán, as a boy he entered the seminary at Palafoxiano di Puebla, Pue. He was 22 when he finished his first year of theology and joined the Comboni novitiate at Tepepan, D.F., under the guidance of Fr. Luigi Ruggera, a true front-line missionary. The Comboni Missionaries had come to Mexico City in 1951 and Fr Emmanuel spent some time there with a veteran from Africa, Fr. Pietro Vignato, who had also been a missionary at San José del Cabo where he introduced the safari method, village by village visiting. In the same place there was also Fr. Antonio Piacentini, a missionary of the Purísima, and founder of the Little Brothers of Mary. He also witnessed the extraordinary example of Bro. Alessandro Gritti, a silent but very active character.

It was in this environment that he forged his missionary life, an environment so full of fervent missionaries. He took temporary vows on 19 March, 1958, and was immediately sent to Venegono Superiore to complete his theology. Three years later, on 9 September, 1961, he took his final vows and, on 7 April, 1962, he was ordained in the Duomo of Milan by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini.

As a young priest, he remained in Mexico City for the next five years, preaching mission appeals in the parishes and promoting missionary vocations among the youth.

In 1969 he was assigned to Mozambique, having spent a year in Lisbon to study the language. He was parish priest at Buzi, in Beira diocese, then the scene of full civil war between the Frelimo and the Portuguese colonial power. It was there that he revealed his great ability in the local languages and learned several of them.

In 1973, he returned to Mexico for some well-deserved holidays. He was appointed novice master at Cuernavaca from 1974 to 1978. However, his heart was still in Mozambique and every time he managed to collect some money, it was on behalf of that mission of his. He asked to return there and his superiors placed him in charge of the assistance of the Mozambican refugees in Malawi, which he did from 1979 to 1994.

Fr Luigi Casagrande remembers him thus: “His time in Malawi may be divided into three sections. The time of his apostolic activity in the south-east of Malawi near the Mozambique border, characterised by the organisation of the mission of Chiringa and the establishment of several Christian communities and the construction of various centres of prayer. Then there was the period of apostolic activity in the Lisungwe Valley in contact with the poor people of that area, people who needed constant visiting and encouragement. It was hard work, especially during the hot season which demanded much energy. Thirdly, there was the period of missionary work in the mission of Lirangwe where he dedicated himself to organised catechesis, the formation of the leaders of the small Christian communities and the care of the catechumenate for adults. I must say that I found him to be a Comboni missionary thoroughly identified with his apostolic vocation, with the Institute and with the Founder. He was always available to help the confreres. He liked order and exactness and took the jokes of his confreres with good humour and laughed them off. He was inclined to be somewhat inflexible which made him sometimes take an unpopular position. With the passing of the years, he had reached a good balance between attention to himself, apostolic work and his life of prayer.”

He was assigned to South Africa where he stayed until the year 2000. He had happy memories of those years as he often showed while chatting with the confreres after dinner.

Fr. Giuseppe Sandri writes: “Fr. Manuel came to South Africa on 22 September, 1993. After some months spent learning Zulu in various places, he assisted the parish of Nelspruit for about six months. He was transferred to the Community of Nhlasatshe, and afterwards appointed to the parish of Mt. Frere, in the diocese of Kokstad, where he stayed until July, 2000 when he returned for good to Mexico. While he was in South Africa, Fr. Manuel was a missionary who was always available, humble and committed in first evangelisation, both at Elukwatini and at Mt. Frere. He always participated faithfully in the initiatives of the Comboni province and those of the local Church.”

He was already ill when, in 2001, he was assigned to the province of Mexico and sent to La Paz as rector of the Templo Expiatorio of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and assistant to Fr. Pierluigi Cadè, superior.

Every three months he had to return to Mexico City for a medical check-up by the surgeon who had operated on him. Thus he began his ‘Way of the Cross’ which he underwent peacefully. His life, right up to his death, was dedicated completely to the ministry of hearing confessions and assisting the sick, especially in the hospital of Salvatierra. He was very sensitive to the problems of his community and took great care of the confreres: for as long as he lived, neither the kitchen nor the table was short of anything!

He was a peaceful character, esteemed and loved by the faithful who came to him for spiritual direction and appreciated the sermons he preached during the afternoon Mass reserved for him and which showed a great sense of peace. They now miss him and recommend themselves to his intercession.

In July 2009 he went to Mexico City for his routine medical check-up but could not return to La Paz as he had to have a liver operation. From that point, the situation got steadily worse until, on Friday, 13 November, at 10.45am and at the age of 75 years and six months, he quietly returned to the home of the Father.

A vigil was held for him in our chapel at Xochimilco, D.F., and he was interred in the Comboni crypt at the cemetery close to our house.

During the funeral Mass, Fr. Rafael González Ponce, provincial superior, emphasised in the life of Fr. Manuel his great love for the Word of God and the celebration of the liturgy: “He took scrupulous care of the decor and beauty of the celebrations; he never delivered a homily without preparing himself conscientiously and writing his Biblical notes.” At his bedside there was a Biblical commentary and a book on the thoughts of St. Daniel Comboni.

Fr. Manuel had a great love for Africa: he always wanted to return there and it cost him a lot to obey and stay for so long in Mexico. However, he always animated the missionary groups and tried to transmit the ideal of the missions. He was very fond of the Scout movement, especially for the aspect of the formation of values in the youth; he founded several groups in various places and participated also on the international level. Some of our Comboni priests discovered the missionary vocation through his ministry.
(Fr. Mario Menghini).
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 244 suppl. In Memoriam, aprile 2010, pp. 1-6.