The church of San Giuseppe in Valleggio is large, yet it was unable to contain all the people, relatives and friends who yesterday afternoon wanted to say their last goodbyes to Luca Casali, 57 years old, born in the neighborhood and resident in Trecallo, died after a serious motorbike accident which occurred on Friday last week along the Canturina in Albate.
On the coffin of “Nani” the goalkeeper’s shirt of the DDR (Luca had played football for many years, always in goal), the scarf of the Vasca Fbc (the city’s football club which also gave him a wreath of flowers, of which he had been president as well as one of the founders) and also that of San Marino, with friends from the small state and from Monte Grimano – where he recently spent a lot of time close to his daughter – who arrived to say goodbye to him for the last time. All united together with historical friends from Como and family friends who are close to their daughter Lucrezia, mother Marisa and sister Roberta.
The most touching moment, before leaving the church in the heavy rain, was the reading – by a little girl – of a poem dedicated to “Nani” by her friends from San Marino: «Hello dear Luca. Maybe each of us got lost one day, in an embrace in the middle of a thought, on the edge of a glass, between screams and a smile. Maybe you were looking for that one song that made you feel good and filled your heart. Maybe we were truly friends and now you’ve gone on your old motorbike to sell dolls and antique watches, maybe I’ll see you again, up there in the middle of the sky.”
In the homily, Father Umberto underlined: «Thinking about death helps to become aware of life – said the Franciscan religious – Especially when a death comes as suddenly as Luca’s. It makes us think about time to love, to do things we never do. We don’t know if we will still be here tomorrow. I do not know. Thinking about death helps us enjoy the time we are given, to love, listen and do good. Ten minutes later we might no longer be there, like Luca. We have excluded God from our lives, we think we decide everything, but then everything disappears.”
An afternoon of pain, but also of friendship, closed (at the exit of the coffin) by a great applause.
