In Pace Christi

Fr. Mario Ongaro was born in Bovolone, near Verona, on April 7, 1926. As a young boy he felt the missionary call and entered the seminary. He was a novice in Venegono and a scholastic in Rebbio for two years. In 1947 he was assigned to the United States to complete his theological studies which he did in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the regional seminary of Mount St. Mary of the West where he was ordained to the missionary priesthood on May 26, 1951. Of those days Fr. Mario liked to tell how he and his Italian confreres had to begin classes almost immediately after their arrival, when the English language was still a rather unknown entity. What saved them was the fact that in those days the theology books were in Latin, which they knew better than English. He also remembered the rather primitive conditions in which they lived while the seminary was being built. The scholastics began to make themselves known by building an animated Nativity Scene that very first Christmas in the style that was common in Italy. The tradition is still alive after 65 uninterrupted years.

After a brief period in Cincinnati, Fr. Mario was sent to the Novitiate of Monroe, Michigan where he began his long life as an educator. There he remained until 1956. He was to return to Monroe in 1961 for a period of three years. During his stay in Monroe he was also very active in the local Catholic community, being readily available for ministry in the neighboring parishes and at Mercy Hospital.

Fr. Mario also had two tours of duty in California: in Pala, a mission run by the Comboni Missionaries among Native Americans in the diocese of San Diego, and from 1983 to 1987 in the Los Angeles area, as educator of young men aspiring to join the missionary life.

In the 70s the Institute underwent a major revision of the Rule of Life in view of the unification of the two branches, following the indications of Vatican II. So in 1976 Fr. Mario was called to Rome to be part of a commission that studied the way of life, the history and the future direction of the Institute. He worked at this important project for close on three years.

Fr. Mario spent the remainder of his long priestly life – 62 years – in Cincinnati, Ohio. Most of the time he was an educator and the disciplinarian at our Sacred Heart Seminary. Scores of former students remember him as being “severe, just and fair.” While performing his duties as an educator, he found the time to obtain degrees in education and psychology. For a number of years he was also a member of the provincial council and in charge of ongoing formation.

In his later years, Fr. Mario continued his priestly ministry in a number of retirement homes and parishes. Despite his vast knowledge, he was a man of few words, but was very much in demand as a confessor and spiritual guide down to the last few days of his long life.

In February of last year he was diagnosed with kidney failure, a terminal condition which he accepted in a great spirit of faith and refused to have treatment that would not in any way have changed the final outcome. On Sunday evening, December 16, he died peacefully. Fr. Mario leaves behind countless friends who appreciated his guidance, his dry sense of humor, his deep faith and his ability to share the love of God through personal guidance and the sacrament of confession.
(Fr. Joseph Bragotti)
Da Mccj Bulletin n. 254 suppl. In Memoriam, gennaio 2013, pp. 108-111.