Lamezia Terme – The “Padre Giovanni Vercillo” Lamezia Terme socio-cultural association was established on 23 May. The founding members are the “young people” of Father Giovanni Vercillo, a friar of the Order of Minims who carried out his ministry in the parish of San Francesco in the 70s and 80s, leaving an indelible memory for having worked with young people and for young people, who passed away prematurely in 1990 at the age of 46.
“Father John bore a single signature, engraved in his heart and on his always smiling face: that of Jesus Christ – the association explains – The fulfillment of the Gospel “can only be a divine affair” someone said. Well, Father Giovanni accomplished this task in full, even though, up until the last moment of his life, turning to God he said: “How much good has not been done”. This friar, truly with the smell of sheep on him, was a precursor of the non-conformism preached and implemented today by Pope Francis: the search for the sheep outside the flock, the welcoming of the last, the joy in daily coexistence, the depth of his thoughts and actions, his disinterested affection, his emotional charge. Father Giovanni’s dream was to see a church that was free, poor and at the service of the least. He, a fighter, son of the Second Vatican Council, believed that the church should open itself up with courage to the challenges of the world. And in his priestly ministry he did nothing other than put into practice the Rule of Saint Francis of Paola. This was Father Giovanni. And today his young people from that time have decided to set up the association to try, in their own way, to follow up on the teachings of the Friar Minimum”. “After starting a new journey as adults within the parish of San Francesco – they say – as a family group initially, taking care of the responsibilities of parents and the relationship with today’s children, it continued, then, as an adult group, taking care of of reception, immigration and social problems, such as social and drug addictions”. “Now – they add – we begin this new path as lay Catholics, focusing more attention on our territory and on all the specified themes. We aim to contribute to promoting social solidarity and cultural activities, the valorization of our territory and the diffusion of legality, hospitality, as well as social, religious and political commitment. The current members will remain founding members, but we intend to open it to those who intend to share the association’s objectives and goals with us”.
The founding members are Gennaro Teodoro Palermo (President of the Association); Rosanna Massimo (Secretary); Lidia Macrì (Treasurer); Giovanni Gallo, Raffaele Paonessa, Antonella Massimo, Michele Antonio Partipilo, Caterina Dolci: Sister of the Child Jesus. The first public outing of the association will be on 11 June on the occasion of the meeting on differentiated autonomy which will be held in the hall of the parish of Saint Francis of Paola.
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