Fr. Vincent Munari sx
Yes, it is 50 years since I was ordained priest; years have gone by very quickly, mostly in happy situations. Even now when I take the memory post-card of our ordination, I read aloud the names of my superiors and classmates that I see in the picture, and their faces come back to my mind and make me relive emotions, feelings of old relationships and life situations together.
Now I ask myself: what have I done during these fifty years? Apparently little because I do forget the past very quickly. Only some spots of light keep coming back to my mind. After my ordination I was sent to conclude my studies in Rome. It was during the than ongoing celebration of the second Vatican Council (1962 – 65). Every day’s expectations were too high to be human, like imagining and praying for the “conversion” and the change of heart of the whole Catholic Church, starting from the Rokan Curia. At that time rubrics and liturgical gestures were considered most important. For instance one day Bishop Tissot, an old retired Xaverian told me, with a severe tone of reprehension, that I was not striking my breast correctly when saying the “Lamb of God ”. For me it was more correct to strike my breast when saying “Have mercy on us”, rather than when saying “Lamb of God”. I did not want to indicate myself as the Lamb of God. And we students were just making fun about this and similar episodes.
The completion of my theology studies could only be logically linked with the big themes of the Second Vatican Council. For me the non Christian religions, indicated as preparation to the Gospel, was and is a fascinating subject.
East Pakistan, (now called Bangladesh), was my dreamed of destination for my mission work, I naturally saw my future there. So I went to Britain to study English. When I came back I went to Parma, the mother house, to meet Father General. He assigned me to Udine, in the north-east of Italy, not to the far East according to my plans. In 1976 I was transferred to Desio, another Xaverian house. It is there that at last I received my destination to Sierra Leone at the end of 1979.
So the beginning of 1980 was the beginning of my mission “ad gentes” in every sense. The Africans welcomed me by carring out a robbery at gun point in the Yonibana Mission. Fr. Noaro strenuously defended the teachers’ salaries, the target by the robber. As for myself at 2.00 am in the night I was not sure of what was really happening: I thought I was still in Italy, when the Red Brigades were making the front page news in the media by their criminal activities.
Moving to Kamalo, I had the chance to enlarge my scope and horizon. Fr. A. Pelizzari was the one who pronounced for me the words of Jesus:“YOU GO OUT”. He explained that, being elderly, he could take care of Kamalo himself, while I should go to Kamakwie 3 days a week. There one late evening, while I was visiting our christian sick people in hospital, they brought in a woman bitten by a cobra. Doctors were already gone so I applied to the bite the black stone that I had with me. Il did work, the woman was saved. In the morning the leg was almost completely healed. A teacher of the Wesleyan Secondary School asked me if it was the pope who had blessed the stone.
Christian communities were growing; I was continually thanking God for it. From other Limba villages of the Kamakwie area people were coming and asking to be led to know Christ. My plan was to get a good number of catechists and prepare them trough regular meetings and later to post them in different villages. But the Bishop, Mons. Azzolini, who would second my plan, was reaching 75 years and getting ready for the retirement.
When the then Fr. G. Biguzzi, who had become Novice Master in Italy, was appointed to succeed Bishop Azzolini, I received an urgent letter from the General Direction asking m to return immediately to Italy to take ut the task of Novice Master in place of Fr. Biguzzi. My first reaction was to refuse to comply, buut then I remembered my vow of obedience and the obedient Christ.
I remained in Italy for more than 20 years; statistics say that I was not a good Novice Master. In fact many Temporary Professed of my time left the community. But in my ordinary daily life I felt happy, having always in my heart the certainty that I was doing the will of God. Time passed and in2003 I was assigned again to Sierra Leone. Now I am old, frail, with health problems, but still happy that even now I can do something for the Kingdom of God. Looking back, I must confess that I have had, and still have now, a good and a happy life. I do thank the Lord from whom all good things come.
Yes, it is 50 years since I was ordained priest; years have gone by very quickly, mostly in happy situations. Even now when I take the memory post-card of our ordination, I read aloud the names of my superiors and classmates that I see in the picture, and their faces come back to my mind and make me relive emotions, feelings of old relationships and life situations together.
Now I ask myself: what have I done during these fifty years? Apparently little because I do forget the past very quickly. Only some spots of light keep coming back to my mind. After my ordination I was sent to conclude my studies in Rome. It was during the than ongoing celebration of the second Vatican Council (1962 – 65). Every day’s expectations were too high to be human, like imagining and praying for the “conversion” and the change of heart of the whole Catholic Church, starting from the Rokan Curia. At that time rubrics and liturgical gestures were considered most important. For instance one day Bishop Tissot, an old retired Xaverian told me, with a severe tone of reprehension, that I was not striking my breast correctly when saying the “Lamb of God ”. For me it was more correct to strike my breast when saying “Have mercy on us”, rather than when saying “Lamb of God”. I did not want to indicate myself as the Lamb of God. And we students were just making fun about this and similar episodes.
The completion of my theology studies could only be logically linked with the big themes of the Second Vatican Council. For me the non Christian religions, indicated as preparation to the Gospel, was and is a fascinating subject.
East Pakistan, (now called Bangladesh), was my dreamed of destination for my mission work, I naturally saw my future there. So I went to Britain to study English. When I came back I went to Parma, the mother house, to meet Father General. He assigned me to Udine, in the north-east of Italy, not to the far East according to my plans. In 1976 I was transferred to Desio, another Xaverian house. It is there that at last I received my destination to Sierra Leone at the end of 1979.
So the beginning of 1980 was the beginning of my mission “ad gentes” in every sense. The Africans welcomed me by carring out a robbery at gun point in the Yonibana Mission. Fr. Noaro strenuously defended the teachers’ salaries, the target by the robber. As for myself at 2.00 am in the night I was not sure of what was really happening: I thought I was still in Italy, when the Red Brigades were making the front page news in the media by their criminal activities.
Moving to Kamalo, I had the chance to enlarge my scope and horizon. Fr. A. Pelizzari was the one who pronounced for me the words of Jesus:“YOU GO OUT”. He explained that, being elderly, he could take care of Kamalo himself, while I should go to Kamakwie 3 days a week. There one late evening, while I was visiting our christian sick people in hospital, they brought in a woman bitten by a cobra. Doctors were already gone so I applied to the bite the black stone that I had with me. Il did work, the woman was saved. In the morning the leg was almost completely healed. A teacher of the Wesleyan Secondary School asked me if it was the pope who had blessed the stone.
Christian communities were growing; I was continually thanking God for it. From other Limba villages of the Kamakwie area people were coming and asking to be led to know Christ. My plan was to get a good number of catechists and prepare them trough regular meetings and later to post them in different villages. But the Bishop, Mons. Azzolini, who would second my plan, was reaching 75 years and getting ready for the retirement.
When the then Fr. G. Biguzzi, who had become Novice Master in Italy, was appointed to succeed Bishop Azzolini, I received an urgent letter from the General Direction asking m to return immediately to Italy to take ut the task of Novice Master in place of Fr. Biguzzi. My first reaction was to refuse to comply, buut then I remembered my vow of obedience and the obedient Christ.
I remained in Italy for more than 20 years; statistics say that I was not a good Novice Master. In fact many Temporary Professed of my time left the community. But in my ordinary daily life I felt happy, having always in my heart the certainty that I was doing the will of God. Time passed and in2003 I was assigned again to Sierra Leone. Now I am old, frail, with health problems, but still happy that even now I can do something for the Kingdom of God. Looking back, I must confess that I have had, and still have now, a good and a happy life. I do thank the Lord from whom all good things come.