In Pace Christi

Fr Ezio was here with us in Castel d'Azzano just for a few months and many of us know very little about his missionary life. We remember the most important dates.

Father Ezio was born in Boltiere, in the province of Bergamo (Italy) on January 4, 1926. At the age of 11, he entered the diocesan seminary and remained there until maturity. In 1945 he entered the Novitiate of Venegono, where he made his first vows on 9 September 1947. For theological studies, he went first to Verona and then to Venegono. He made his perpetual vows on 23 September 1949 and was ordained a priest on 3 June 1950. He was immediately sent to Zahle in Lebanon, where he stayed for a year to study Arabic. Then he was assigned to Egypt where he spent ten years teaching French and English. Later, he spent nine years in Togo, as pastor of the parish of Tabligbo, one year in Sudan and thirty-eight again in Egypt.

Fr. Ezio had returned to Italy for good when he was over eighty in 2007 and had spent the last few years in Milan. He died on May 31, 2022, in Castel d'Azzano, where he had arrived a few months previously. Three days later he would have celebrated 72 years of priesthood: "You will celebrate them in a big way, with Jesus, in heaven", Fr. Renzo Piazza, superior of the house, said in his homily at the funeral.

 "You came to end your life in Castel d'Azzano, in this community that welcomed you with joy. Welcoming you among us, we perceived the presence of an elderly man, fragile, with a faint voice, but at peace with himself, with God and with others. Observing yourself in the chapel it was evident from your gestures and attitudes that you had a mature, profound and habitual relationship with the Lord. One understood that prayer was important to you and that being with the Lord was a priority for you. In recent days, during a Eucharist, you tried to express a personal prayer, but the confreres were unable to hear your voice. That prayer, fruit of the presence of the Holy Spirit, expressed love for your vocation and for the mission. Even if the celebrant did not notice, your prayer did not fall to the ground. It was collected and brought to God ”.

At the end of the Eucharist, Br. Roberto Strabla, in a very spontaneous and heartfelt way, shared his life experience with Fr. Ezio in the community of Milan, underlining his dynamism, serenity and good humour. (Fr. Renzo Piazza, mccj)