On April 25, in the church of Saints Peter and Paul in Lushnje, Albania, Brother Paolo Marasco, of the monastic community of Montetauro, the soul of the Casa Italia-China experience in Ravenna, was ordained a priest. A moment of great joy attended by around 400 people close to the young missionary, including relatives, friends, consecrated persons and disabled children of the Little Family of the Assumption of Montetauropriests from the dioceses of Ravenna, Rimini, Faenza and the faithful of the small Christian community of Berat, where Don Paolo will exercise the priesthood. «After twenty years of monastic life in the Little Family, seven years of mission in Albania, at the service of God and brothers – he says Don Paolo – becoming a priest means being able to offer my contribution even more to the Albanian people. It is a gift given to this small church in Berat Prefecture, 150 people, where I will continue to announce the Gospel.”
The ordination ceremony was concelebrated by the local bishop monsignor Giovanni Peragine and by the metropolitan archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia, monsignor Lorenzo Ghizzoni. «Their participation means the desire to keep alive the union of the Churches of the two countries and in general, of the whole world. As the bishop said in the homily, this priesthood is a gift, for me, for my community and for our Churches.”
Last April 15, Don Paolo lost his mother due to illness. The pain of the loss was quickly joined by the joy of consecration. «My mother would have loved to see me as a priest. She was a woman of heartfelt and lived faith, rediscovered as an adult, after my vocation; even in the final and darkest moments of her illness, she continued to repeat “we must always thank God”. Here, I can only thank God for everything: for the priesthood, for the faith and the Gospel, gifts which are corresponded by making one’s life a gift.” Four other bishops participated in the ordination: Nicolor Anselmiof Rimini, the metropolitan archbishop of Tirana, Arjan Dodaj, Luigi BonazziApostolic Nuncio to Albania e Ottavio Vitali, bishop of Lezha. Also present were the superiors of the Little Family of the Assumption, Don Lanfranco Bellavista and Sister Paola Bastoni, Father Gianni Criveller, missionary in Hong Kong and director of PIME in Milan and the many young volunteers and families, who supported Don Paolo in starting the project of Italy-China House, in Ravenna.
«The hope is that the priesthood is a good omen for the growth of missionary cooperation between our Churches. This summer, for example, a missionary camp is planned for young people from the diocese of Ravenna between the ages of 16 and 23. I am waiting for many friends from Ravenna who can see the work we do here, testify and then tell about it.”
On April 26, Don Paolo presided over his first mass: «The service was held outdoors because there is not yet a real church in Berat and in recent days there were a lot of us»
«I hope that the friends of Ravenna will pray for me and come to share a week or some time with me and my community. In July I will be in Ravenna for some first Masses, then at the end of August I await the young people from Ravenna. For missionaries, friendship, of those who come and of those who wait for us when we return, is fundamental.”
It is still possible to join the youth missionary camp (16-25 years old) at the end of August. For info: Maicol (Missionary Office) 340 7007614 and Stefano (Small Family) 328 4491531.
Erika Digiacomo
