He left on the tip of his feet, Father Angelo Lazzarotto, after a long and intense life dedicated to the mission and, in particular, to China. In the retirement home of the Pime in Rancio di Lecco, where he had lived for some years, they were preparing a big party for the 100 years, which he would have turned on May 14th. But Father Angelo left the day before yesterday, almost to shield himself of such attention for him: This morning his funeral was celebrated, chaired by the Superior General of the Institute, Father Ferruccio Brambillasca.
He left as he had lived. “A humble, mild man, peace operator, merciful”, As the confrere and friend Father Gianni Criveller, in the homily of the celebration, recalled it. «Friendly, respectful, he knew how to interact with many people, women and men, without discrimination of ideas, or religious faith, or political belonging, or sex. He was a humanly very pleasant and above all mild man ». That mildness, the constant opening to dialogue, the ability to weave relationships have also been the key to its long missionary service. Treviso di Falzè di Piave, ordained priest in 1947, Father Lazzarotto had arrived in Hong Kong in 1956. He has dedicated himself, starting from the seventies, to resuming contacts with Chinese institutions and Catholics; For this reason, the title of member of what was jokingly called the “gang of the four”, a small group of missionaries-senologists (in addition to Father Angelo there were the Belgian Jerome Heyndicks, the French Jean Charbonnier and the Polish Roman Malek) had conquered the field. Maoist persecution and the “Cultural Revolution”.
In 1980 Lazzarotto was among the founders of the Holy Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong, for a long time the most informed center on the Catholic Church in China. And for the rest of life he wrote a lot, both books and articles for various newspapers (primarily “world and mission” and “AsiaNews”) to make the reality of China, of his people, his culture known in the West. His latest book, published in 2019, was entitled “A strong commitment to the Gospel in China”. The author, of course, did not attribute to himself those words, but to one of his great friend, the Italian senator Vittorino Colombo, thanks to which he himself at the end of the seventies, with the first openings of Den Xiaoping, had been able to make his first trips to the People’s Republic of China.
It is not exaggerated to say that, with its discreet style and one approach to the other intellectually honest, Lazzarotto has moved in the wake of the great Jesuit Matteo Ricci, which for life has focused on the path of friendship and dialogue. In 2010, on the occasion of his 85th birthday, about thirty scholars from all over the world contributed to the realization of a Festschrifta volume in honor of Father Angelo, published in Germany by Monumento Serica. The writer was assigned to the task of a long interview, from which a large biographical profile was taken that appears in the volume and from which, once again, The profile of a man totally dedicated to the cause of the mission and the Gospel emerges but, at the same time, capable of dialogue with those who believer is notto intertwine relations with high officials of the Communist Party and prestigious academic authorities, as well as with bishops, priests and simple faithful of the church in China.
This explains why, in a message addressed to PIME, today Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, states that «Father Lazzarotto was a contact pioneer with China. I am sure that, by God, he will intercepto for all those who, in his footsteps, try to consolidate the relationships of knowledge and friendship with that great country “. In the homily of the funeral Father Criveller has recalled the numerous trips made to China with Father Angelo, That it was not lacking to start the day with a mass celebrated in secret, at antelucan times and in the hotel, and to end it with detailed reports of the meetings and visits made, which then became long relationships and precious letters to the competent offices of the Holy See. «He had created a huge network of contacts, to whom he wrote many letters. I learned so much on this point from him and I am grateful to him because with generosity he shared the precious network that he had managed to build and reconstruct with years of patient weaving. ” Just like Matteo Ricci, master and model of Father Lazzarotto and many missionaries who operated in the “Middle Kingdom”.
