robbed him and viciously killed him. They found him the next morning on the
ditch of a stream. He entered the Casa S. Giuseppe in Lozano in 1935, first as a
student, then as an apprentice. In those years, he had the opportunity to study
and work, but above all, he would learn and love the family of Father Guanella,
which would also become his family.
Four years later, in 1939, Tito entered the novitiate of Barza at the age of
17. He began the school of Guanellian life, in time maturing in regularity and
precision to the extent of being scrupulous “not for human reasons, but only to
please God and fulfill his holy will.” He himself wrote those words on the front
page of the notebook of the Regulations and he was faithful to it all his life.
After two years of Novitiate, he made his first religious profession in Barza
d’Ispra (VA), binding definitively to the Congregation of Father Guanella as a
lay brother on September 12, 1941. The war was in full swing. The houses of
Father Guanella were busy at work as the cry of many poor who lamented for
bread and consolation was high. The new religious was sent to the house of
Gozzano (NO), to work at the Public Relation Office. He worked with faith and
generosity in that ministry that earned him the respect of many persons in the
house and outside. The aim was to feed the children and youth who crowded
beyond belief the “St. Joseph House in Gozzano”... The means came as Brother
Tito was winding his way through the heart and homes of many people, making
them aware of the good that was done inside the house, and bringing into the
house the goods that he begged outside. A simple exchange of goods for a
reciprocal advantage, a wise and well thought operation that enriched all,
spiritually and materially.
He started this way and did not stop any more, all his life, with faith, with
courage, with ardor, in cold blood, jeopardizing in those years his own life by
finding himself many times caught in a crossfire, as he was trying to
compromise with Germans and fascists one time, with the partisans another
time, as the situation called for.
After the war, Tito continued to be appreciated and loved for his everyday
life: his simple ways, the constant dedication to the work in his office, the
continuous interest for the children’s well being and happiness, his smile and
understanding toward all, the Guanellian apostolate of charity in the house and
outside...
everyday, for twenty years.
Then suddenly a word came, an unexpected decision not clearly understood
in the beginning. It was the request for a new temporary appointment. Brother
Tito remembered it with great irony: “One fine morning the superior came and
said: “You have to go to Genova” where a new house was opened some years
back. “There is a need for one like you who can drive. It would be for a short
period, six months only. Then you will return here to your work.” I am still here
– continued Brother Tito – those few months had become years, then a decade
and now it is almost fifty years.” Brother Tito arrived at the Casa dell’Angelo on
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September 15, 1960. He had never seen the sea and this comforted him and
cheered up his simple and enthusiastic soul. He was in need of enthusiasm and
comfort because the impact with the new situation was very difficult. He felt
again as in the dark period of the war. It was not one fought with the arms
outside but another fought inside the walls of the house. He remembered with
pain: “When I came to Genova, the Guanellian confreres were already at Casa
dell’Angelo for 9 years. The ownership of the house was still in the court
system. The tenant farmers did not want to leave the house and the land. The
first years were a struggle of legal maneuvers with judges and lawyers. To reach
our kitchen we were forced to go through common areas suffering mockery,
revenge, ill feelings, and humiliations... but the Lord had always helped us and
loved us. I remember that evening when the last family left. I closed the huge
door of the entrance and I could not hold the tears. I held in my hands the door
lock
for a long time,
thanked the Lord and had a big cry.”
It was the
beginning of Brother Tito’s “career” in Genova, his house, for
which he had begun to give his tears, sufferings, to the extent of giving
everything, including his life. Because of the worries and the necessity of
winning the legal battle, perhaps Tito forgot how much time had passed and the
promise of returning...
Or perhaps someone, “Thanks to heaven” (as he himself humorously
added), forgot the humble Brother Tito. The fact was that by now his life
continued, day after day, with absolute regularity, with the responsibility of the
Public Relations Office.
At work, he collected and scrupulously preserved the precious heredity
passed on to him by the late Father Gerolamo Cremonesi. He repeated often
until the last day, the key expressions that then became his constant program of
work: “
Register the Masses;
update the addresses;
love the children.” It was a
plan, which was more than the pure program of work. It was a plan that
regulated his life: great love to the Lord; great love for his work; great love for
his “little angels” as he called the children of the Casa dell’Angelo.
During the years, day after day, with a tremendous method repeated his
rounds of “begging.” Always with means of fortune to which he himself
provided to bring the necessary “modifications.” He was appreciated and earned
the admiration of many for his geniality and practical sense... Then during free
time, he raised pigs and goats, grew vegetables and took care of the workshop
and the welding...
He knew how to do everything. First and always, he went around the
market. By now, it became a charism. He took out charity and brought in
charity... he took out the Lord and brought in the Bread...
He continued thus until
the last day before his death. He was the simple instrument of that little
Providence, made of natural tastes and homemade things, bread and fruits to
keep on the table, clothes to dress up the children... During the fifty years, he
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