The awards ceremony took place yesterday evening, Sunday, at the theater of the Villoresi College in Merate
Six Fuoco Dentro awards delivered directly by the Archbishop of Milan, Monsignor Mario Delpini
MERATE – Reckless dreamers, but at the same time concrete and determined, capable of living life as a gift. The Villoresi College theater hosted the intense and exciting awards ceremony of “Fire inside. Women and men who change the world”an initiative promoted by the Archdiocese of Milan together with the Elikya association to highlight women and men who, with their generous commitment, have brightened the lives of those they met.
Six prizes were awarded directly on stage by Archbishop Monsignor Mario Delpini who expressed the hope that the strong emotions felt in the room, thanks also to the music expertly proposed by the artistic direction of Raymond Bahatidirector of the Elikya choir, can “represent a principle of transfiguration, like seeds that become fruits”.
Sister Luisa dell’Orto
Moving interpretation “Je m’abandonne a toi”a hymn of abandonment written by Charles de Foucald, who introduced the figure of Sister Luisa Dell’Ortonun of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Gospel of Charles de Foucald, originally from Lomagna, killed on 25 June in Port au Prince, capital of Haiti, where she had worked as a missionary for years.
A life, his, given to others until martyrdom, as remembered by sister Adele who, interviewed by the journalist Gerolamo Fazzini, he spoke of the profound desire for a meaning to life sought by his sister Luisa first in philosophy and then found in faith, in the meeting with De Foucald and in sharing life with the poorest. Adele, present at the ceremony together to the brothers Carmen and father Giuseppe and to the mayor of Lomagna Cristina Citteriofinally recalled that two relics of Sister Luisa, the bell with which she called the children and the Bible she relied on to pray, are preserved in the church of San Bartolomeo in Rome in the memorial of the New Martyrs.
The Caiani spouses
From the memory of a nun who made her life a testimony to the award to a couple, the one formed by Sara and Carlo Alberto Caianicapable of questioning themselves deeply, as managers, for 18 years now, of the home for minors a Saint Jerome in Somasca. “Like the Somaschi Fathers, we were struck by the spark of Girolamo Emiliani” they said on stage, telling of a life which, immediately after marriage and the first jobs in the world of work, was transformed into a constant and determined commitment to give a hand to minors who find themselves in difficulty and fragile, building, day after day, a large extended family, with a continuously variable structure, in which their three children become brothers and sisters of the other children and young people.
Don Claudio Burgio
Linked to the Brianza area, where he was already a guest last year during the meeting promoted by the Welfare department of Merate, together with the youth ministry of the Parish of Merate and from Piazza l’Idea, La Grande Casa, and a few weeks ago in during the appointment with the Fondazione Costruiamo il Futuro, is also Don Claudio Burgio, another winner of the Fuoco Dentro award. Chaplain at the Beccaria juvenile prison and founder of the Kayros association which manages a reception community for minors and educational services for adolescents on the outskirts of Milan, Don Claudio reiterated, pressed by the journalist’s questions Giorgio Paoluccihis mantra “There are no bad boys”.
“Young people must never lack trust in themselves and we must have the courage to look at everything, even the failures, which are so hidden by contemporary society. Reality is the first teacher of life” he remarked, recalling with a smile the first difficulties he encountered in dealing with the language of rappers and trappers, as he was passionate about sacred and classical music. ”However, by listening to their texts, I was able to delve deeper into the lives of their families. One thing is certain with kids: credibility comes from presence.”
Franco Vaccari
And he also has great experience with presences, which are often difficult to coexist Franco Vaccari, founder and president of Rondine Cittadella della pace, an experience born from the ability to always throw one’s heart beyond the obstacle by implementing, day after day, the categorical imperative of “You try” learned from the maestro Giorgio La Pira. “We started by writing a letter to Gorbachev’s wife. And then she always went differently than we thought: always better. Our commitment is to stop a war one minute early and to do so everyone must do their part” he reiterated, telling the anecdote of socks and underwear washed in the same washing machine by two peoples at war: “We must succeed to put together the dirt and the intimate, otherwise the human relationship does not start: beauty is born when we give ourselves entirely to the other. Each of us, by choosing, can build peace.”
Blessing Okoedion
The story of instead speaks of serenity and the ability to redeem Blessing Okoedion, a Nigerian who arrived in Italy deceived by a criminal network dedicated to the exploitation of prostitution. On stage, interview by Anna Pozzi, told of her courage to run away and report it to the police, building a new life for herself at Casa Rut in Caserta, where she met other girls in her exact same condition. A sharing that led her to found an association “Weavers of hope” with which she helps other girls who have fallen into the trap of exploitation of prostitution to break their chains.
Sister Nabila
Sister’s testimony was also very touching Nabila Saleh, for 13 years engaged in a school in Gaza. In Milan a few weeks ago, Sister Nabila, of Egyptian origin, recorded a video interview in which she spoke about how, after the outbreak of the war with Israel, she was forced to take refuge in the Latin parish together with 635 displaced Christians for six months. , under bombing and in desperate human conditions. “It’s not easy to live in tension all your life. Living in peace should be everyone’s right.”
The evening, presented by Carlo Rossiopened with the introductory greeting from the new mayor Mattia Salvioni: “The hope is that we can all be warmed by this fire within that inspires us, illuminating the path of doing good here too”.
PHOTO GALLERY
