This year too, for over twenty years, on 12 October, in the Basilica of the Santi XII Apostoli, a Holy Mass in memory of Don Luigi Di Liegro, who passed away in 1997, at the San Raffaele in Milan, at the age of 69. This year the Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Archbishop Giampiero Palmieri, Vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome and animated by the musicians of the Church of San Patrick, in which many people participated: young and old, friends and acquaintances, representatives of associations and religious people, and it was the opportunity to remember the "priest of the poor", or "of charity", as Don Luigi was often called.
In the homily Monsignor Palmieri recalled, among other things, with great effectiveness, an aspect of Don Luigi's life, the experience in Belgium. It was 1958, he was a young thirty-year-old priest, eager to learn first-hand about the conditions of the Italian emigrants who worked in the coal mines, and this was a significant and decisive lesson for the pastoral path of the future Director of the Roman Caritas, which was completed with knowledge of the JOC (the Christian Workers Youth) and its founder. the Belgian Monsignor Joseph Leon Cardijn, appointed Cardinal in the 1965 Consistory precisely for his commitment to the JOC which had now spread throughout the world.
Furthermore, the figure of the "great Roman priest" was remembered at the end of the Eucharistic celebration by Alessandro Romelli, former general secretary of the Don Luigi Di Liegro International Foundation, who retraced the moments and salient acts of the priest's pastoral commitment, which taught to be workers of justice and charity, and to be able to concretely address problems to build the common good.
Rai on the Third Network recalled the figure of Don Luigi Di Liegro, in the Blob show, on the day of his death with a video in memory and the testimonies of Don Luigi Ciotti, Founder of Libera, Sergio Zavoli, journalist and former President of Rai, and the Auxiliary Bishop of Rome and former Director of the Roman Caritas, Guerino Di Tora, where Don Di Liegro is interviewed on the issue of the 1991 Pantanella clearance.
This is why remembering the "priest of charity" and asking ourselves about his pastoral testimony is always a help for those who are committed to overcoming the inequalities that are increasingly present in the Roman reality. In the events that life reserves for each of us, there are complex situations, such as uncertainty and fear of the future, moral degradation and widespread social discomfort, and in the face of new poverty, knowing the figure of Don Luigi Di Liegro can help us understand how to overcome the difficulties that many people, men and women, encounter on a daily basis.
"Thinking" about how he managed to address the issues, which still today represent a source of tension in large urban communities, and Rome is an example, means talking about immigrants, homeless people, the homeless, terminally ill AIDS patients, worn out, unemployed and today those whose living conditions have been radically changed by the pandemic have been added. It's about undoubtedly fragile people, on whom Di Liegro in his pastoral and charitable commitment lavished his energies to find solutions, restoring hope and dignity to those who are considered the last, and as Pope Francis calls them, the discarded of society.
“Christian commitment and territoriality” in the Diocesan Conference of February 1974, commonly defined as “the conference on the evils of Rome”, were the fundamental themes addressed by over 5,000 participants and approximately 550 interventions, involving the entire Roman community, where Don Di Liegro was a protagonist and animator, subsequently promoting the birth of the Diocesan Caritas of Rome of which he was the founder and first director. It is no coincidence that the Roman Caritas, in over 40 years of existence, is considered a fundamental pillar in the capital for helping the less fortunate.
In this sense the testimony and priestly action of Don Luigi Di Liegro, inspired by great evangelical sentiments, towards those who found themselves in need and suffering, became an example not only in the Christian community, but in civil society, in the institutions, in the forces social and cultural. This is why we remember: he was "the priest of charity", an example that lives in the memory and works of those who knew him and those who heard about him.
In this time a group of friends of the founder of Caritas of Rome, including some from the Parish of San Leone I al Prenestino, believe it is right to start a collection of testimonies on Don Luigi Di Liegro, and if possible hypothesize the canonical procedure of the Causes of Saints.
Finally, it is necessary to remember that Don Luigi was born in Gaeta on 16 October 1928. It comes naturally to remember his 93rd birthday, because his spirit is always in the hearts of many people and his teaching is very timely, even in moments that seem hopeless.
Luciano Di Pietrantonio
