In Pace Christi

Bro. Adolfo Xilo (13.08.1916 – 04.01.2007)
Born at Molvena in the diocese of Vicenza on 13 August 1916, he entered the Comboni novitiate at Florence in 1945, taking his first vows on 1 November 1947. The following year he was assigned to Portugal where he stayed for four years until he was assigned to Brazil, where he went in 1952. At Rio de Janeiro, Fr. Rino Carlesi (future bishop of Balsas) welcomed the first group of Comboni Missionaries to work in South America.
His first assignment was to the town of Serra, near the capital Vitoria, in the state of Holy Spirit. While the priests tried to bring the people into the parish, Bro. Adolfo had to take care of all the rest, starting from scratch. Soon afterwards he helped transfer the missionaries to the North, on the road to São Mateus, a future diocese in the South of the state. The parish of João Neiva, where he was sent, was better organised than that of Serra. There he worked together with Fr. Giovanni Salvadore in pastoral work.
When I arrived in Brazil at the end of 1960, I found Bro. Adolfo in the parish of Montanha, in charge of the "fazenda", a farm situated 20 km away, in the community and future parish of Vinhático, donated by the state government to the Comboni Missionaries in view of social works and schools. Bro. Adolfo worked there for many years, much appreciated for his great sense of responsibility.
At the age of 76, after 40 years of missionary life in Brazil, he returned to Italy and the Thiene community, where he was put in charge of the kitchen garden. Even when his health began to deteriorate, he spared no effort to make himself useful. Then came the time to retire to the Verona C.A.A. where he died on 4 January 2007, the first confrere to return to the house of the Father this year.
Having personally witnessed various phases of his life, I can say that Bro. Adolfo, with his strong and tenacious character, greatly loved to cultivate the garden and the land as well as looking after the animals, always concerned with the upkeep of the community and of the Comboni seminarians.
He was very attentive to the needs of the families who lived near the Comboni properties and who helped him with the farm work. He provided work for them, but also demanded that they worked seriously.
I always appreciated his fidelity to community and personal prayer. In his approach to people, he made them understand that we all have our personal responsibilities and duties to fulfil. By spending much time in prayer, he sought to overcome the difficulties of life and the shortcomings of his character which might have distanced him from community life.
In my brief visits to Verona, I found Bro. Adolfo always smiling, especially when he remembered his time in the missions. He never complained about the daily difficulties of life and never doubted of his vocation. He always bore witness to faith and love for his work at the service of the community. Comboni would have described him as “a good subject for mission”. That he truly was. (Fr. Pietro Bracelli)
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 236 suppl. In Memoriam, ottobre 2007, pp. 1-3.