Card Becciu: Blessed Cremonesi, an encouragement for the Church of Myanmar
Today the martyr's beatification was celebrated in Crema cathedral. Card Angelo Becciu, Crema’s Bishop Daniele Gianotti, and Taungngu’s Bishop Isaac Danu were present at the ceremony. Today is the 95th anniversary of Fr Cremonesi’s first Mass. Participants made a pilgrimage to the places that marked his life. His testimony “is an incentive for young people to reflect on the beauty of the missionary vocation, experienced with enthusiasm and total commitment”.
Crema (AsiaNews) – Card Angelo Becciu, head of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, stressed the value of the beatification of martyr Fr Alfredo Cremonesi, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), that took place this afternoon in the Cathedral of Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Crema (Italy).
In his address, the prelate said that "The beatification of Father Cremonesi is an encouragement to the Church in Myanmar to continue working, going beyond spiritual and moral wounds, so as to bring the healing medicine of God's mercy among people who have suffered from conflicts and repression, and who are arduously following the path of freedom, justice and peace.”
On the eve of World Missionary Sunday (20 October), the Prefect highlighted the value of the testimony of the martyrdom of Fr Cremonesi in the presence of the city’s bishop, Mgr Daniele Gianotti, the bishop of Taungngu (Myanmar), Mgr Isaac Danu, as well as other bishops and priests.
"With the testimony of his life generously offered for love of Christ, the Blessed Alfredo speaks today to this Diocese of Crema …, he speaks to the missionaries ..., he speaks to the whole Church, noting that dying for the faith is a gift granted only to some, but living the faith is a direct call to all. Just as the theme of this World Missionary Sunday urges us: Baptised and sent.”
The cardinal also mentioned that, coincidentally, today is the 95th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated by Fr Cremonesi on 19 October 1924 in San Michele (St Michael) Church. This morning, together with a delegation of guests, the cardinal went on a pilgrimage to that church.
The "missionary pilgrimage" included a stop at the Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of Graces) Church, where Fr Cremonesi celebrated his last mass in Italy, before his departure for Myanmar, and a stop at Montodine cemetery, where the missionary's parents, Enrico Cremonesi and Maria Rosa Scartabellati are buried.
Fr Cremonesi’s testimony, stressed Card Becciu, “is an incentive for young people to reflect on the beauty of the missionary vocation, experienced with enthusiasm and total commitment, without fear or reticence. He reminds us all that the future of our communities and nations will not be for those who spread hatred and violence, but for those who sow brotherhood, acceptance and sharing.”
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18/10/2019 14:56
