Pilgrimage and Thanksgiving Following the Beatification of Martino Capelli

Pilgrimage to the Land of Martyrs

The day began at 7:30 a.m. with the departure of more than 80 Dehonian confreres from all over the world. Upon arriving at Monte Sole, they were welcomed by Father Marco Bernardoni, SCJ, who introduced this moment of recollection by recalling the historical context as well as the symbolic significance of this hill for the local inhabitants and the entire Diocese of Bologna. This site was indeed the tragic scene of the massacre of 770 innocent people, including the martyrdom of Father Martino Capelli, SCJ, Don Elia Comini, SDB, and Don Ubaldo Marchioni, who are now beatified.

In his welcoming remarks, the Superior General invited everyone to introduce themselves in order to forge closer fraternal bonds. He reminded those present that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was a common spiritual trait among the three martyrs. In this spirit, the confreres then divided into language groups to meditate on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary in their respective languages, walking together to the area’s cemetery.

Visit to Pioppe

After the Rosary and a break to regain their strength, the day continued with a visit to Pioppe, specifically to “La Botte,” the site where Father Martino Capelli and Don Elia Comini were shot by firing squad, and whose bodies were subsequently swept away by the river waters where they disappeared. It was a moment of intense reflection that the confreres experienced in different ways. Father Domenico, SCJ, shared that, 20 years after his first visit to these grounds, he felt “a very strong emotion” before their example, adding: “They could have fled, but instead they chose to give their lives along with their people.” The emotion was all the greater for Father Michael Augustinus, SCJ, who was visiting these sites for the very first time: “I am deeply impressed and moved by the fact that I am standing here, in the very place where he was martyred… I feel very proud to be a Dehonian.” A confrere from Brazil highlighted the spiritual significance of the site: “To live this reality is to truly experience the greatness of being a Christian and of witnessing to the love of Christ in our lives through our baptism.” Questioned in the same vein, Father Ángel Alindado Hernández, SCJ, shared the vocational renewal that this experience sparked within him:

“On this day when we visited the place of the martyrdom of our brother, Blessed Martino Capelli, the desire to give my own life was renewed within me. I asked myself how I am capable of giving myself day by day; how I am capable of giving myself to my brothers; and how I am capable of witnessing, also with my life, with my words, and with my actions, to what I once professed.”

In the context of the beatification of Martino Capelli, Father Michel Temgo, SCJ, finally expressed his joy at experiencing these events firsthand: “It was a great joy to be present here for the beatification of Padre Martino Capelli.” A joy shared by the entire Dehonian family gathered in these places.

Mass of Thanksgiving

After this long day of pilgrimage, the Holy Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated at 6:30 p.m. at the Dehonian parish church of Santa Maria del Suffragio in Bologna. Presided over by the Superior General SCJ, the Very Rev. Father Carlos Luis Suárez, surrounded by General Councilors, the Provincial Superior of Northern Italy, as well as Dehonian and Salesian Postulators, this celebration brought together about a hundred Dehonians and numerous faithful to give thanks to God for this exceptional moment. In his homely, the Superior General described the three new blesseds as “authentically Christian men, configured in the school of the Heart of Christ, men radically captivated by the Gospel, by the vocation received in the Church, and by love toward the most fragile and the smallest.” He further emphasized the social dimension of their sacrifice, explaining that, configured in the love of the Sacred Heart, they “sought, through their presence and their attention to all, to rebuild bridges between increasingly distant shores.” Speaking specifically about Father Capelli, Father Carlos Luis noted that “in Martino, we recognize the social sensitivity that so strongly marked the life of our founder.”

Acknowledgments

At the conclusion of the Mass, the Superior General expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father, the Church of Bologna, the Dehonian Postulator Father Ramón Domínguez, SCJ, for his arduous work, the Salesian Postulator and his team for their friendly and fruitful collaboration, the Beatification Preparation Commission, the Communication Commission, the Italian Province, the community of Bologna, as well as all the confreres and faithful present. To close the day, around eighty relics were blessed by the Superior General and then distributed to the various Major Superiors to be exposed for public veneration in their respective entities.