In Pace Christi

Luciano was born in Padua (Italy) on April 21, 1939. In 1945, his mother Laura died in an accident. Papa Giuliano entrusted him, together with the other two brothers, to the care of his maternal grandmother. In 1947, the father remarried and, the following year, the fourth child of the family was born.

Luciano attends elementary school with some difficulty. He is often agitated, restless and nervous. After elementary school, he was sent to a boarding school but was unable to settle in and returned home. His father, not wanting to have him idle at home, made him repeat the fifth grade.

The following year, he attended sixth grade, but with poor results. He therefore opted for a job placement school in Padua, but even there he encountered difficulties. He was extremely restless and it took him four years to pass the three classes.

In the meantime, he had already expressed his desire to become a priest several times, but his father was very much against it: he wanted Luciano to obtain at least a certificate or a diploma before doing anything else.

In 1955, Luciano enrolled at the “Guglielmo Marconi” Industrial Technical Institute in Padua, where he repeated the first class. In September 1957, he entered the Professional School for Coadjutor Brothers, which the Comboni Missionaries had in Thiene (Vicenza), where he attended the mechanics course, obtaining good results in the final exams in June 1958.

Luciano applied to be admitted to the Novitiate and was accepted. In 1959, however, he had to return to his family due to health problems. He had to undergo numerous medical tests but with no clear diagnosis. Finally, on 9^th September 1963, he made his first religious profession and was assigned to the community of Verona, assigned to the service of sick confreres, to the cloakroom, and in his free time, to the care of the African Museum. In July 1964 he was assigned to the community of Carraia (Lucca) with the role of porter and house clerk.

In 1966, he was sent to the NAP, assigned to the community that the Combonis had opened just a few months previously in Brossard, a district in Montreal, Canada. His task, in addition to supervising the house, was to manage the missionary animation office. In 1967, the publication of the missionary magazine for children, Baobab, began, and Luciano assumed responsibility for its distribution.

In July 1971 he was assigned to the Mother House in Verona, at the “Mission Procure Office”. In 1972, he was assisting at the Assistance Centre for the Sick. Here the “crises” of the past returned, necessitating further tests. He suffered from frequent (at times, almost daily) episodes of a form of neurosis, with depressive reactions... Supportive pharmacological therapies were recommended, but the situation remained unstable. In January 1974, he was busy at the Generalate in Rome for the preparation and realization of an exhibition of African artistic objects. For him, those are months of joy and satisfaction.

In March 1977, Father Tarcisio Agostoni assigned him to Togo and invited him to go to Paris as soon as possible to study French. In July 1978 he was in the parish of Lomé, the location of the provincial headquarters. After a short period of acclimatization, he was assigned to Afanya Mission, as an instructor in the vocational school.

In July 1985, he asked for a sabbatical year outside the community, which he spent in the community of the Little Brothers of Jesus in Spello (Italy).

In July 1987, he returned to Togo, assigned to Togoville as treasurer of the community and head of the Centre for the Blind. In February 1989, he moved to the parish of Kouvé, again as treasurer and in charge of the house. In June 1990, he returned to Italy, appointed to the community of Padua, where he remained until 1997, apparently leading a peaceful life. He would have liked to return to Togo, but the confreres in the mission were undecided: everyone knew that Luciano has a difficult, very unstable character; in short, his return to Togo was “Not recommended”. He was then offered a renewal course in Rome, which began in January 1998, thanks to which he seemed to find some serenity again. On 30^th March 1998, he was once again appointed to Togo: Luciano’s joy was immense. In August, he was in the parish of Asrama, in charge of construction. He liked the job and felt really at ease. In January 2003, he was appointed treasurer of the community. In September, he returned to Italy for medical treatment and in January 2005 he felt he had recovered sufficient strength to return to Asrama. This he did and stayed there until December 2007, when he had to return home for further medical treatment.

In 2012 he was assigned to the Mother House in Verona, where he willingly lent himself to helping confreres who, returning from the mission, needed check-ups or stays in hospital. Luciano was always available.

On 31^st December 2022, he was taken to Castel d’Azzano, to the Bro. Alfredo Fiorini Centre, in a very poor state of health. For a short time, he was admitted to hospital but his health had deteriorated, forcing his return to the Centre where he passed away on 4^th June, at 6.15 am.

(Father Franco Moretti, mccj)