In Pace Christi

Fr. Francesco Antonini was born in Novafeltria, in the province of Rimini, on 16 October, 1942. Having joined the minor seminary at Pennabilli (Pesaro) in October 1956, after middle school, he immediately became known for his “praiseworthy piety and good conduct”. In 1959 he went to the Pius XI Regional Seminary in the Marche, in Fano, where, as soon as he entered, he expressed the desire to join a missionary institute, as the rector of the seminary wrote when replying to Fr. Leonzio Bano, Superior of the Institute for African Missions who had asked for information about the young aspiring missionary. Francesco, “very pious, with a peaceful and happy temperament, well balanced and very mild”, did the novitiate in Florence, taking first vows in 1964. He studied theology in Verona and took perpetual vows on 9 September 1967. After his ordination in 1968, he worked in the minor seminary in Italy for three years, up to 1971 when he was appointed to Mozambique where he stayed until 1988. In fact, before he returned to Italy, his confreres had chosen him as provincial superior, a ministry he exercised from 1981 to 1986. In Italy he worked first as novice master and then, again, as provincial from 1989 to 2004. He then left for Mozambique where he stayed until 2017, when he returned to Italy for health reasons. He died on 16 May 2018, after a year-long struggle with a tumour.

The following is part of the homily given by the Vicar General, Fr. Jeremias dos Santos Martins, on the day of the funeral, 18 May, at Castel d’Azzano (Verona).

Who was Fr. Antonini? He was a gift that we are called to value and accept with both hands, as the Makhuwa people say – he worked among the Makhuwa in Mozambique – “wakhela ni matata manli”. I would like to emphasise four characteristics I consider important in the life of Fr. Antonini.

Passion for the Mission, for the Kingdom of God. These words sum up his whole life. Right to the end, his heart beat for the mission: the mission of God, of the Church and of the Institute. The mission to bring all to the heart of God. In fact, if he had returned sooner, he might still be alive. He consumed himself to the end for Mozambique. In March I phoned him to know how he was and he answered, “Please do not appoint me to Italy. I am not yet ready”. He died as a member of the province of Mozambique.

Goodness. This was another characteristic of his. He was a good man. He breathed goodness and communicated goodness to all he met. His goodness turned into welcome, acceptance, listening to others, dialogue and empathy with all, especially the poor.

Availability and service. I always found him ready to help, to serve and to lend a hand both spiritually and materially. He behaved like this with the confreres and with the people. I saw him often seated at the entrance to the catechetical Centre of Anchilo (our provincial house), listening to people, their problems and their complaints. He knew how to listen and to console people. This availability showed itself by his being among the people especially in times of suffering, sickness and death. In his final years in Mozambique, he would often take part in funerals, accompanying the families to the cemetery even under the hot sun of mid-afternoon.

Faith lived as confidence in God and abandonment in His hands. I saw this faith of his during the war. Fr. Antonini believed in peace and knew that peace would come someday. Seeing the weakness of humanity, he trusted in the power of God who can do what is impossible for man. In the last months of his life he lived out his faith as abandonment into God’s hands. He would say with serenity: “The important thing is to do God’s will. I accept everything”.

Why was it that, during the six months he spent in Castel d’Azzano he had become the confidante and confessor of many of our elder confreres? Because the confreres found this attitude in him.

Personally, I like to remember him as a friend, a companion, a passionate missionary, one courageous and dedicated to others.

Dear Antonini, I remember you when I was appointed to Mozambique in 1984. You wrote saying: ‘we are waiting for you. There is a lot of work to do in Mozambique. You are a gift to our province in this time of suffering’.

I remember how you met the two of us, Fr. Arlindo and myself, on 17 November 1984, at the catechetical centre in Anchilo. It was late, about 10pm and pitch dark. The generator was turned off and we arrived out of the blue. Fr. Gino Centis had met us just by accident at the airport and when we arrived in the car you came out to see who had arrived. With your paraffin lantern in your hand, you welcomed us with joy and affection. You immediately made us feel at home, even in the darkness of that November night, during the war.

Dear Antonini, I remember those days of the civil war: even though the roads were very dangerous and journeys very tiring, as we always had to travel in a military convoy, you would visit the confreres in their communities to prevent them feeling lonely, to encourage them and bring relief to everyone.

I remember when you were sick: you never complained but simply abandoned yourself to the will of God. The last time I spoke to you personally was in January. You told me you were in the hands of God and that you had accepted never to return to Mozambique. Indeed, when you spoke about the meaning of the vows you said: it is like saying “Lord, I am all yours to do with me as you please”.
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 278 Suppl. In Memoriam, gennaio 2019, pp.51-57.