In Pace Christi

We are still in a state of shock and cannot believe the news of the death of Dom Franco, brother and pastor. The people of the diocese and city of Balsas fell like orphans. These were the common feelings following the funeral of Dom Franco Masserdotti on Tuesday, 19 September, in Balsas cathedral.

It happened on Sunday 17 September, at about 14.30, the time Dom Franco usually spent cycling. He knew the road BR 230 well. What exactly happened is still uncertain. It seems that he was overtaken by a van and that he may have tried to move to the other side of the road, unaware, because of the noise of the van, of another approaching vehicle, driven by an evangelical pastor, which struck him, killing him on the spot. The news spread rapidly and the people gathered at the hospital of St. Joseph where the remains were prepared before being taken to the cathedral.

From Sunday to Tuesday the common people came to greet their pastor. The Apinajé Indians came to represent the indigenous groups of Brazil, carrying our their customary rites with offerings of cassava flour and bread. The Metropolitan Archbishop of São Luís, Dom José Belisário, presided at the funeral Mass assisted by some bishops from Maranhão and the five bishops of the state of Tocantins. Mgr. Sebastião Bandeira, ordained bishop by Dom Franco in March 2005, came from Manaus in order to be close to the diocese and family of Dom Franco.

On Tuesday morning his brother Roberto, his sister Elvira and her husband and one of their children arrived to represent Dom Franco’s mother, Maria.
President Lula sent his representative Rogério Freitas who offered condolences to the family, recognising the tireless efforts of Dom Franco for justice and the rights of the indigenous peoples “to a land without evil”.

In the words of the family members, the celebration was the feast of a risen people who loved their pastor, of a society which saw him as a point of reference. Dom Franco had a wonderful ability to accept people, to trust them, even when some took advantage of his good will. He was a simple man with an inner peace which always affected those close to him. He did not stand on ceremony and never made others get feelings of inferiority just because he was a bishop. All felt at their ease in his presence.

The Mass was followed by the funeral procession, which passed by the various Comboni locations of the city: Daniel Comboni School, the hospital of São José, the main church of Santo Antonio and the bishop’s residence. Dom Franco was interred next to his great friend who worked so hard to have him as his successor, Mgr. Rino Carlesi. We thank God and we thank his family for leaving his remains in the land where he had come to work, to sweat, to love and roam about, the land where he shed his blood, even if by accident.

There is a great emptiness, but the seeds of resurrection are already sprouting. At the request of the people, friends, his family and the Comboni Missionaries, in order also to remove any suspicion, we have asked through the Italian Embassy and the CNBB that the federal police investigate the incident. Dom Franco Masserdotti wrote: “True death is when we place our hope and the meaning of our life in possessions, in power, in unrestrained pleasure, when we close our hearts to our neighbour and allow ourselves to be carried away by selfishness” (Fr. Antonio Guglielmi).

Message of the Superior General in memory of Mgr. Franco Masserdotti (on behalf of the General Council and the provincial councils of Brazil).
Our hearts are full of mixed feelings: sorrow, incredulity and faith at the sorrowful news of the death of Mgr. Franco Masserdotti. “Why, O God?” The questions springs from love of “Dom Franco” and from faith in God. And the silence of God once again becomes oppressive. Once again we kneel before His Holy Will. “God knows”, Abraham replied to the questions and doubts of his son Isaac.

Even as our hearts are filled with sorrow, our faith moves us to thank God for the person and the life of Dom Franco. We thank God for our confrere bishop, who lived as a faithful servant of his Lord and his people. But who was Dom Franco? He was a man sent by God to Brazilian lands to teach that we are all one family. A man with the heart of a Pastor who never abandoned his flock.

Who was Dom Franco? He was a bishop who, rather than the pectoral cross, loved the heavy cross of the tears and sufferings of his people. Who was Dom Franco? He was a Missionary, a Comboni Missionary who walked the path laid out by St. Daniel Comboni: the path that leads to a life with the poorest and most abandoned. He was a missionary sent by God who sowed goodness in the hearts of many.

Just remembering Dom Franco is not everything. Dom Franco was a father, a teacher, a pastor and a prophet: the faith moves us to celebrate the life of our bishop imitating his virtues, following his example and loving the people of God. We are in sorrow, but not discouraged. God knows of this. I would like to recall the words of St. Daniel Comboni on the death of his first missionary companion Don Francesco Oliboni: “Our brother has died. His death does not discourage us. Quite the opposite, it helps us to persevere in our vocation and mission. His death compels us to renew our promise of fidelity to God and to His mission”.

We are all of us, Comboni Missionaries, united in communion of prayer with the people of Balsas and the Church of Brazil in remembering our most dear Dom Franco. We may be sure that the bishop of Balsas does not want to see us sad. He wants us all to sing the Magnificat of our lives and that we all promise to be faithful to God and His mission.
(Fr. Teresino Serra)
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 234 suppl. In Memoriam, aprile 2007, pp.10-19.