In Pace Christi

Fr. Antonio Colombo was born in Seprio, archdiocese of Milan, Italy, on 6 March 1933. He did his first year novitiate in Florence and the second year in Sunningdale, England, where he took his first vows in September 1952. He then continued his studies in Sunningdale and completed them in Venegono. He was ordained priest on 15 March 1959.

We quote from Fr. Benedetto Giupponi of the community of Venegono. “The arrangement was to meet in Limone on 5 May. We were scheduled to start the retreat with four novices who were about to make their first religious profession. Fr. Antonio was counting on keeping this appointment! During his last few years, here in Venegono, the novices had become part of his life. At first he was associate master of novices; then, when his illness had put him in a wheelchair, that relationship with the novices became, if possible, even deeper, partly because he needed their help, but above all because he loved them and wanted to share with them the values of missionary life, and wanted to support them in their spiritual journey. The love was mutual.

On 1 May Fr. Antonio had not felt well. Medical tests revealed a viral hepatitis which showed a cirrhosis of the liver that had up to then gone undetected. These two, plus the illness that had plagued him since 1993, proved fatal.

In 1993 Fr. Antonio had returned from Kenya with problems in his legs. After several tests, they had found a rare disease: the motor-neuron syndrome, an illness that breaks up the ligaments of his muscles, leading to paralysis and death. The prognosis was that he would not live long. Instead Fr. Antonio, with great serenity coming from the depth of his spiritual life and a lot of courage (helped all along by Ms. Maureen, an English friend), had been able to resume his life, first as formator, and then as a member of the community.

He loved to say Mass with the novices and to share the Word with them; within the community his was always a serene and joyous presence, busy in building good human relationships, and never burdening others with his illness and sufferings.

He often reminded us and the visiting confreres that he could no longer walk around the world, but, like Moses on the mountain, he was willingly to raise his arms to ask God that our work be fruitful.

From the very start of his missionary life Fr. Antonio had a great love for young people, first in England, in 1959-1964, where he taught and formed our seminarians, besides being active in vocation promotion; secondly in Uganda, where he applied himself totally to form a very active youth movement among the Alur. He was greatly appreciated by the teachers who ran the movement. Actually, his success did not please president Obote, a protestant. So in 1967 Fr. Antonio was expelled from Uganda together with nine of his confreres.

Fr. Antonio was in Italy from 1967 to 1973, assigned to formation. Those were difficult days. There was a cultural revolution taking place, which required formators who could be at one with the students and at the same time strong and open to new things. He was in Brescia and Asti, then in Florence and Carraia with the novices, and finally in Crema.

Then in 1973 the time came to leave for the missions in Kenya where he stayed until 1984. One of his traits was a sociable character that moved him to underline the primacy of “living with the people” and walk at their pace. He always wanted to journey together, to make plans together: he was very concerned with establishing cooperation with the Sisters and lay people, helping them to develop their gifts. It was during this time that the confreres, as a sign of their trust, elected him as their provincial.

He later was back in England, from 1985 to 1990, working in mission promotion.

Having returned to Kenya in 1991, God was waiting for him with the unexpected development of his illness. Just as Jacob, who fought with God and found himself with a twisted hip, so Fr. Antonio ended up in a wheelchair. His presence, though, was a blessing for many of us, probably because God had won. This is certainly the message he leaves us: if we want to be holy missionaries, we must have a strong relationship with God. Fr. Antonio showed us this much.”

Fr. Antonio died at dawn on 23 May 2002 in the hospital of Tradate, near Venegono.