In Pace Christi

Fr. Ezio Sorio was born at Sommacampagna (VR) on 10 May, 1924. He made his religious profession on 7 October, 1942, and was ordained priest on 6 June, 1948. He worked in Italy, Portugal and Brazil. He spent the first seven years of his priestly life in Italy teaching and doing mission promotion at Verona, Gozzano and Trent. From 1 July, 1955, to 30 June, 1960, he worked in Portugal as editor of the magazine and in mission promotion. He was appointed to South Brazil and on 23 October, 1960, Fr. Ezio embarked on a ship at Genoa together with Fr. Pietro Bracelli, Fr. Angelo Carlo Zen and Fr. Gabriele Marcon. Knowing the language and history of Portugal, he spent the fourteen days of the voyage from Genoa to Rio de Janeiro instructing his companions.

His first appointment in Brazil was in Rio de Janeiro as procurator. Since 1958, the Comboni Missionaries had been guests of and chaplains to the Assumption Sisters, originally from France and enthusiastic about our Comboni mission. Once he had terminated this task, Fr. Ezio was sent as Parish Priest to Ecoporanga, in the diocese of São Mateus, where Mgr. Giuseppe Dalvit was the bishop.

Ecoporanga was a municipality claimed by two States (Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais) where totally unrestrained violence reigned. Of course, the Parish Priest could not avoid being somehow involved. In fact, when he left the mission after seven years of work, he wrote a book entitled: “Bride of Blood”. After so many challenges he was recalled to Verona to work in mission promotion up to 1975.
Back again in Brazil, he was sent to work at Curitiba, to set up a parish in the extreme outskirts where as yet there was neither church nor the house for the priests nor anything else. There were also plans for a formation community at the Postulancy level; this was built and today houses young aspirants. The outstanding feature of his presence there was characterised by mission promotion and the foundation and running of the Diocesan Mission Centre. His experience there was behind his recall to Rome to work as Secretary General for Mission Promotion from 1980 to 1983.

He again returned to Brazil and was appointed to the North East Province and assigned to parish work in the city of St. Luis, the capital of the State of Maranhão. He was later recalled to South Brazil where he worked in the parish of Taguatinga, a satellite city of Brasilia, where he stayed for nine years. He afterwards spent two years in Rio de Janeiro in a city parish. For a short time he was also one of the spiritual directors in the Archdiocesan Seminary. He was then sent to São José do Rio Preto, in the State of São Paulo, as curate at the Comboni-run parish up to 2002.
In 2002, he returned to Verona, Italy, where he was welcomed and looked after up to the time of his death which occurred at the Mother House on 17 December, 2012.
(Fr. Pietro Bracelli)
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 254 suppl. In Memoriam, gennaio 2013, pp. 112-1.