In Pace Christi

Paolo was born at Teglio (Sondrio), on 21 March 1926, to Antonio and Eufemia. He entered the Comboni novitiate in Venegono (1943-5), where he made his first profession. He then did the first two years of the scholasticate at Rebbio (Como), one year at the Verona Mother House and three years in Venegono where, on 22 September 1950, he made his perpetual profession. He was ordained priest on 19 May 1951 in Milan by Cardinal Ildefonso Schuster.

After spending a year in Zahle, Lebanon, studying Arabic, he was sent to Khartoum (Sudan) to continue studying Arabic (1952-3). He was then sent to Mupoi, South Sudan where he ministered from 1953 to 1959. He then spent a couple of years in Bologna, at the provincial house, editing the magazine.

From 1961 until 2013 he worked in Uganda, in various missions: Arua-Ediofe (1961-1976), Gulu Cathedral (1976-1982), Awach Parish (1982-84), ministering in the parishes of Opit, Kigumba, Parombo and Kalongo, during the period from 1984 to 2013. He also learned several languages. Apart from Italian, he knew, as he himself said, English, Arabic, Swahili, Zande, Alur, Acholi, etc.

Fr. Filippini truly worked like a “hidden stone”. In fact, we have few details about him. Concerning his long period in Uganda, we have just one letter written in 1965 by his confrere, Fr. Giuseppe Calvi (who died in 2011), from which we can see the trust and friendship that bound the two missionaries. Here is an extract: “The last time you wrote to us, it was from your home in Teglio; we hope that the good Valtellina wine has done you some good. What about your headaches? When are you coming back? If you believe you can return, rest assured I will not be at all against it; I will be happy if you come to help us. Here in Angal, we ought to give regular assistance to the sick of the hospital. There is work to be done with the liturgy, the singing and the ordinary ministry here in the mission. We will not give you any heavy work like going on safari so as not to provoke a relapse. In a month or so, Fr. Fiorante and Fr. De Tommasi ought to go to Parombo to open the new parish. Then you would be expected to come to keep us company and help us with our daily work. I am of the view that if any Father wants to come and work in the mission, even if only for two or three years, it is always worthwhile; if it is just a question of his travelling expenses, it is an insult to Providence to prevent the good one may do for souls even in just one year: a single soul saved is worth more than the price of a plane ticket …”.

In the last years, having returned from Africa for health reasons, Fr. Paolo lived first with the Rebbio (Como) community and then in Milan, at the Fr. Giuseppe Ambrosoli Centre, for treatment. It was there that he received congratulations from Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse, Superior General, for his 75 years of temporary consecration. Those closest to him have said that he spent much of his days praying in the small chapel of the house, or absorbed in his thoughts and remembering his life of 93 years; he was always smiling and impatient to recount his adventures, spread over a mixture of time and space and enriched by a vivid imagination.

Fr. Paolo died in Milan on 9 April 2020: “Tiptoeing, in silence, at the start of the Paschal Triduum, he returned to the embrace of the Father. His life was permanently marked by silence: he loved concrete gestures better than a lot of words. His silence was broken only by his accounts of his experience in Uganda. His stories about his mission were many-faceted and told of his great labours: his service at the hospital, especially in the obstetrics department and his care for the children and the families”
(From the obituary published on the website of the parish of Sant’Eufemia,  Teglio, Sondrio, diocese of Como)