Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
nigrizia
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "Africa and Asia welcome three out of five immigrant children. Worldwide 30% of migrants are under 18 years old. The number of children who leave their families to set out on the paths of migration is high". This is underlined by Sister Neusa de Fatima Mariano, Superior General of the Scalabrinian Missionary Sisters, a Congregation that has been involved in the assistance to migrants since its foundation. Sister Neusa recalls this reality on the anniversary of the death (on December 14, 1896) of the Servant of God Father Giuseppe Marchetti, co-founder of the Congregation.
Giuseppe Marchetti accompanied the migrants as a chaplain on board, in the ocean crossings to Brazil, between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. Once in São Paulo, he gave life to a work in favor of the children of Italian emigrants, who had become orphans, involving countless benefactors, and dedicated himself wholeheartedly to helping the most defenseless in society.
"Father Giuseppe died at the age of 27 of typhus, contracted while he was assisting the sick, almost 125 years ago - explains Sister Neusa -. His heroic existence and his example of holiness are still highly relevant, especially in the field of assistance to immigrant minors, in particular if they are alone and abandoned".
For the Superior of the Scalabrinians, "the heroic life of Father Marchetti continues to encourage new vocations in the service of the smallest and most vulnerable. His missionary initiative can inspire the creation of increasingly effective models to ensure that migrant children are always welcomed, protected, promoted and integrated into the contexts in which they live".
From 14 December 2020 and until the same day in 2021, the Congregation will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the death of Father Marchetti through programs, activities and innovative initiatives. "The figure of Father Giuseppe Marchetti remains an icon, a model for everyone to put their dreams and potential at service", concludes Sister Neusa. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 15/12/2020)
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