In Pace Christi

Giancarlo was born in Trevenzuolo, in the province of Verona (Italy), on 30^th November 1939. He entered the minor seminary of the Comboni Missionaries of Padua while still young. In 1955 he began high school in Carraia (Lucca) and obtained the certificate of maturity in 1958.

On 1^st November 1959 he was in the novitiate of Monroe (Michigan, USA), where on 16^th August 1961 he made his first religious vows. For theological studies he moved to the scholasticate in San Diego, California. He made his perpetual religious profession on 18^th August 1964. On 27^th May of the following year he was ordained a priest in San Diego. In his hand, he already had the letter from Father Gaetano Briani, the Superior General, with his destination: Khartoum. After the two-year Arabic language course, on 1^st July 1967, he was sent to El-Obeid, and was immediately appointed parish priest of the Cathedral and director of the schools, in particular of the Comboni School, where he was also a professor. He was more at ease in pastoral work, which he never omitted. A few months later, having noticed his pedagogical competence, Msgr. Paolino Lukudu, a Combonian and the Apostolic Administrator of El-Obeid, put him in charge of the diocesan pastoral centre, which however did yet not exist except in the desire of the prelate. Father Giancarlo rolled up his sleeves, “allied” with Sister Margaret Hazzan, and the two gave life to the PALICA (Pastoral Liturgical Catechetical Centre) in El-Obeid. “He was so tireless that, at times, it was impossible for me to keep up with him”, the nun later recalled.

In 1976, in agreement with Msgr. Lukudu and with the approval of the regional council of the Comboni Missionaries, he went to Brussels for a diploma course in Catechesis and Pastoral Care at the “Lumen Vitae” International Institute. At the end of October 1977, certificate in hand, he returned to El-Obeid, and resumed the direction of the Pastoral Center. He would remain there until July 1982, when he was sent to Khartoum where he taught at Comboni College and at the diocesan major seminary. He too became responsible for the various youth associations of the city and, soon after, he agreed to be the chaplain of the Catholic University

In 1993, he was deeply involved in the preparation for the visit of Pope Saint John Paul II to Sudan. “I want this event to mark a” historical moment “that can clearly” define “the Church in this country,” he often told his confreres. This is how it turned out: on 10^th February, at the Eucharistic celebration in honour of Blessed Josephine Bakhita, in Khartoum's “Green Square”, the Pope found himself in front of a million Catholic faithful. “Who are they? Where do they come from?», the Pope asked in amazement, at the sight of that tide of Christians in the capital of an Islamic state. “They are Catholics from South Sudan, refugees here because of the war going on in those regions”, Archbishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako explains, adding: «They are all “sons” of Daniele Comboni». There are those who swear that, since that day, the cause of beatification of the Founder of the Comboni Missionaries has received a very strong impulse. Three years later, in fact, on 17^th March 1996, Pope John Paul II would beatify Comboni.

Father Giancarlo remained in Khartoum for 19 years, also engaged in ministry at the cathedral and the many Christian communities, made up mostly of South Sudanese refugees, located in the distant suburbs of the capital. In 1997, Archbishop Zubeir appointed him as his Vicar General, until February 2001. Father Giancarlo enthusiastically threw himself into strengthening the Diocesan Secretariat for Religious Education: he wanted to train teachers who were prepared and capable of bearing witness to their Christian faith in that Muslim land.

On 1^st July 2001, after a “fraternal but energetic dialogue” with the superiors, in which Mons. Zubeir also intervened (who would have liked his Vicar to stay with many more years), Father Giancarlo returned to Italy, assigned to the Mother House of Verona, in charge of missionary animation. In 2004, he was vice-superior of the community. In the Verona area, he was very well known. After all, despite being away from home for almost 40 years, he had always kept in close contact not only with his own parish but also with the entire diocese. Parish missionary groups would call him for conferences and he proved to be a skilled animator of missionary activities in each parish, especially those of Isola della Scala and Nogara.

In October 2005, he managed to convince his superiors to let him return to Khartoum where he accepted the position of professor at Comboni College. Unfortunately, eleven months later, a serious illness – a tumour of the liver – forced him to return urgently to Italy. He was admitted to  Center for the Sick in the Mother House of Verona. He gradually recovered and returns to being his usual self.

In 20011, his confreres wanted him to be vice superior of the community again. He would have preferred to be let go, but he accepted. As soon as he could, however, he would engage in the apostolate in the many parish communities of the diocese.

In 2019, he became ill again. He was advised to undergo serious treatment but opted for a milder form. He still had a little energy left and wanted to spend it as he thought best. He also worked hard raising funds to sponsor new schools in the Kosti region, and also in his beloved Khartoum, where the Salesian Sisters of Shajara have asked him for help.

Early in March 2023, he complained of severe pain in his stomach. He resisted in silence for a few days but then had to admit he couldn’t take it any more. He was taken to the hospital where the doctors found a bowel obstruction. The operation seemed to have gone well. But he remained very  weak and passed away on 18^th March 18. On 22^nd March, in the presence of Father Diego Dalle Carbonare, provincial superior of Egypt-Sudan, the funeral mass was celebrated in the chapel of the Mother House. That afternoon, the funeral was held in the parish church of Trevenzuolo. (Father Franco Moretti, mccj)