Below are some passages from an interview given by Don Vincenzo to the diocesan monthly In Comunione. When asked who the priest was for him, he responded as follows: «A man of God. This is how I like to think of the priestly ministry in the current context. First and foremost, a man, an “expert in humanity”, expressed with tenderness, welcome and sensitivity. A man with a high sense of justice to be close to everyone in the various and current poverty.
The priest today more than ever must above all be dedicated to listening. To be “of God” he must listen to his Word every day with prayer and meditation and then listen to others. Today there are many professional and competent figures to support human problems, the specificity of a priest, however, is to address them in the light of the Word of God, with the charity of the Good Shepherd.
Listening is the first sign of welcome, of charity for the faithful that the priest meets. I have always been convinced of this (I said it twenty-five years ago in the interview with the parish periodical “Tentativo”) and I believe that today it is even more necessary.
The Lord has chosen us for the sanctification of the people of God, therefore we priests must first commit ourselves to the path of holiness, the ordinary one of the next door, as Pope Francis asked us in “Gaudete et exultate”, and which is achieved in the fulfillment of daily duties with the extraordinariness of love. In this sense the priest must be increasingly a man of God.
I summarize this reflection in two images from the hymn of the Lauds of the Common of the Holy Shepherds; the priest is “Master of wisdom” and “Father in faith”. May he be a witness of that wisdom which is a gift of the Spirit and which draws from the Word, of the wisdom of the heart of those who put God’s will into practice. And may he be an educator of the faith by exercising a loving fatherhood, desiring nothing other than the spiritual progress of the faithful.
Finally, the priest is a man of communion, a commitment to “decentralization” from himself to be united with his Bishop and his presbytery, beyond personal differences. And therefore an example and creator of communion in the communities in which he lives.».
And to the question “Priest and suffering! Do you feel in some way linked to the cross of Christ?”, Don Enzo stated: «I live the mystery of pain in my flesh, but every priest as such is associated with the cross of Christ through various forms of suffering. Illness is one of these, not the only one. Obviously physical illness is more noticeable and weighs considerably when it is irremediably disabling like mine; in any case, however, in any suffering we are called to complete in ourselves “what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church” (Col 1:24). And this is how I live my illness, which has become an integral part of my priestly ministry.
In the Eucharistic liturgy the priest invites the assembly to prayer “bringing the joy and fatigue of every day to the altar”. Here, I try to bring the effort of suffering to the altar to offer it to the Lord, not only the suffering itself, but also the effort of accepting it, of facing the limits it imposes on me on a daily basis. I am convinced that faith is not a sweetener for pain, but is an internal strength that allows you to face suffering.
I won’t deny that immediately after the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis I was overcome by discouragement and worry about the future, but I soon reacted with the desire to live my life well, despite the disease. Meditation on the mystery of the cross helped me a lot in this: offering suffering to the Lord for me is not a heroic act of endurance and resistance, but the choice to continue living life and the priestly ministry with the love of always and beyond the limits of the disease. We live the mystery of the cross not by thinking about what and how much to do, but by choosing with how much love to do what needs to be done.”
In view of the celebrations on June 29th and in preparation for it, “vocational week” is being held in Barletta, in the parish of Spirito Santo. This evening, at 8.00 pm, the holy mass is scheduled to be presided over by Msgr. Giovanni Ricchiuti, Archbishop emeritus of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti.
Born in Barletta on February 27, 1974, he matured his vocational choice in the Parish of S. Agostino. His education, which began in the Diocesan Seminary of Trani, continued in the Seminary of Taranto, where he obtained his classical high school diploma, and in the Pontifical Regional Seminary “Pio XI” in Molfetta, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology and a specialization in Theological Anthropology.
Ordained a priest in the Co-Cathedral of Barletta on June 26, 1999, he carried out his ministry in the Diocesan Seminary of Bisceglie as an educator, Spiritual Father and Director of the Diocesan Vocations Center. He was Diocesan Assistant of the Youth of Catholic Action and Chaplain of religious and monastic institutes of the Diocese.
Subsequently he held the positions of Chaplain of the Barletta Hospital, Parochial Vicar and Parish Priest of the Parish of San Benedetto and then of Sant’Agostino, Diocesan Delegate for Catholic Schools, member of the Diocesan Tribunal for the process of canonization of the Servant of God Don Ruggero Caputo. He is currently parochial vicar in the parish of Spirito Santo and spiritual assistant of the Family Promotion Center Association “Together with the couple”, canon secretary of the Cathedral Chapter of Barletta.
He is the Coordinator of the diocesan pastoral coordination group, member of the Presbyteral Council and the Diocesan Pastoral Council. co-opted by the Archbishop.
