January 15, 2026 was the anniversary of my arrival in Parañaque (Metro Manila). A few days before, I had received the news that my superiors had assigned me back to my own country, Italy. After eight years of service as Provincial Bursar and Administrator of World Mission magazine, I welcome this “change of horizon”.
In fact, although this position involves mainly office work, at times it is not an easy service: dealing with the local bureaucracy and various maintenance personnel without knowing Tagalog, I found myself facing delays, mishaps and other difficulties that made me lose my temper! I am happy to hand over the Office to a Filipino confrere who will certainly be able to deal with these inconveniences much better than me!
As I am writing to bid farewell to all the readers of World Mission, allow me to say something about myself and my vocation as Comboni Missionary Brother (in the Comboni Missionaries there are both Priests and Brothers). I was born in Milan, Italy, in 1964. I believe my vocation started in 1986 as a “sensation of possibility”, the very light feeling that, perhaps, this was what God was calling me to be.
At that time I was working as coordinator of the maintenance team of a big hospital in Milan, but although the working conditions were very good, I did not feel satisfied. After following a two-year search-in program, I decided to start walking on the missionary path to see what the Lord would help me understand: I joined the Postulancy and then the Novitiate.
“SENSATION OF POSSIBILITY”
While walking on this path, the original “sensation of possibility” started feeling more like a real prospect. Thus, I decided to enter the Institute of the Comboni Missionaries, taking my first vows on May 18, 1991. Thanks be to God, I felt fulfilled and happy and continued on the path that God was presenting me day by day, believing it was the correct one!
At first I thought that my aversion for preparing sermons and speaking in public, combined with my manual ability would make me a better Brother than a priest. By personal experience I noticed that some people believe priests are “too holy” to be approached by “common” Christians: among the workers I had to supervise in the hospital there were some who felt free to talk with me about any matter of religion (they knew I was an observant Catholic!), but would run away as soon as the hospital’s chaplain was approaching.
So, when I had to decide either for priesthood or brotherhood, I decided that being a Brother would allow me to remain a Christian among others and give me a better chance to contact those people who would feel afraid to talk to a priest. Oftentimes the vocation of the Brother is understood as inferior to that of the priest, but from my perspective the Brother is even a “better” missionary than the priest: by working with others, the Brother has the chance to contact and come to know more people than the priest! Moreover, I believe that people prefer to see witnesses rather than listening to teachers. Thus, in their eyes a Brother who gives a silent witness of his faith by working side by side with them is more acceptable than a priest who only teaches the Gospel from the pulpit.
CULTURE SHOCK
I was first sent to Nairobi, Kenya, to continue my formation as a Brother. I was supposed to remain there for four years, but after only 10 months, the news came that the Superior General wanted me to go to Hong Kong to study Cantonese. I did not know what trials were awaiting for me (I did not even know where HK was!) so I accepted. In January 1993 I arrived in Hong Kong where I studied Cantonese for two years. The culture shock was as unexpected as strong, but with God’s Grace I survived.
My first missionary assignment was in Macau, where I happily lived and worked for eleven years. While there, I studied to become a social worker and then worked in Caritas Macau for almost six years. In October 2007, I was called to Manila to take up the position I had covered for the first time, a role I would again take on over the next eight years. From 2013 to 2017 I had the privilege to live and serve in the community of Limone sul Garda, Italy, in the house where St. Daniel Comboni was born, which is now a well-known retreat house and center of spirituality.
Now the Mission continues! Once in Italy I do not know in which community I will be staying or what service I will be asked to carry out. With trust in God’s help and guidance, I bring all of you in my heart and count on your prayers!
