Pope: Blessed Cremonesi and Myanmar's thirst for peace today

Receiving a pilgrimage from the diocese of Crema, from where the missionary killed by the Burmese army 70 years ago departed, Francis invites people to pray for this "tormented land that I carry in my heart." Seminarians from the diocese of Taungngu who are studying in Italy at the PIME seminary because of the war were also present. The death toll from the air force bombing of Pa Zi Gyi village in Sagaing has risen to 165.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Myanmar is "a tormented land that I carry in my heart and for which I invite you to pray, imploring from God the gift of peace," said Pope Francis said this morning as he received in audience at the Vatican participants in a pilgrimage organized by the diocese of Crema, the homeland of Blessed Alfredo Cremonesi, a PIME missionary who died a martyr's death under army gunfire in Donoku in what was then Burma on Feb. 7, 1953, and was beatified on Oct. 19, 2019.

Significantly the superior general of PIME, Fr. Ferruccio Brambillasca, and a group of seminarians from the diocese of Taungngu, in Myanmar, were also present at the meeting in the Paul VI Hall with the group of about 2,000 pilgrims from Crema led by Bishop Msgr. Daniele Gianotti.

The seminarians were sent to continue their studies in Italy at the PIME Theological Seminary in Monza were because of the conflict waging in the country. The Crema diocese has also maintained close ties with Myanmar in the name of Blessed Cremonesi, a figure whose great relevance Pope Francis wanted to recall today, 70 years after his killing.

In particular, he recalled his strong will to return to his mountain village "despite a thousand difficulties and dangers, to be close to his people and to build and rebuild what war and violence continued to destroy.

"It is striking," the pontiff commented, "the tenacity with which he exercised his ministry, giving himself without calculation and without sparing for the good of the people entrusted to him, believers and non-believers, Catholics and non-Catholics. A universal man, for everyone."

"He exercised charity especially toward the most needy," he continued, "finding himself many times without anything, forced himself to beg. He spent himself in the education of young people and did not allow himself to be intimidated or discouraged by misunderstandings and violent opposition, until the machine-gun fire that crushed him. But even this extreme violence did not stop his spirit or silence his voice."

Francis also dwelt on a phrase written by Fr. Cremonesi: "We missionaries are really nothing. Ours is the most mysterious and wonderful work that is given to man, not to perform, but to see: to catch a glimpse of souls being converted is a miracle greater than any miracle."

"These words," the pope commented, "sum up some important characteristics of the missionary, which I invite you to reflect on and make your own: the humble awareness of being a small instrument in the great hands of God; the joy of doing a 'wonderful work' by bringing brothers and sisters together with Jesus; the amazement before what the Lord Himself works in those who meet and welcome Him. Humility, joy and amazement," he concluded, "three beautiful traits of our apostolate, in every condition and state of life."

The pope's invocation of prayer for peace in Myanmar and remembrance of Blessed Cremonesi's example come just as the toll of the April 11 army bombing of the village of Pa Zi Gyi in the Sagaing region emerges more and more in its severity each day.

The country's shadowy national unity government announced that the death toll has risen to 165, including 27 women and 19 minors; efforts are still underway to identify the victims, so the number is likely to rise further, while at least 17 people were "seriously injured" and underwent major surgeries.

Residents also told Radio Free Asia that military jets were occasionally seen flying over the village to survey the site, while a column of military personnel was positioned about two miles to the east. A witness said rescue workers are quickly cremating the remains in a situation that remains a security risk.

Meanwhile, despite pavilions set up by the junta for the water festival marking Burma's New Year, streets in the cities of Naypyidaw, Yangon and Mandalay remained deserted on April 13 as a gesture of protest against the new massacre. Pro-democracy activists had called the official celebrations an attempt to show the world that the country has returned to normalcy and urged the public to stay away in solidarity with those oppressed by the military's brutal crackdown.