| Witnesses |
|
"The Bangwa people, in the heart of Cameroon, gathered together singing and dancing in the centre of the village. The large church was not big enough to hold them all. It is a prayer of praise and thanks to God for the life of Dr Nicasio Triolo, who left this life an Sunday 21 February. "We have fond memories of his support, his generous self-giving, his care for our sons and daughters and for many of us. Many of our children are still alive thanks to his Christian charity and his professional competence in the service of our people." So says Martin Nkafu, a Bangwa focolarino, as he reads the message of his people at the end of the funeral Mass at the Centre of the Focolare Movement, at Rocca di Papa, near Rome, in front of the Mafua Cristina, the present Queen of the Bangwa, who happened to be in Italy at the time and who wanted to be there as a sign of deep gratitude. At that moment one had the impression of being transferred there, where Nicasio would have wanted to die, in the midst of the Bangwa people at Fontem. Martin Nkafu recalls what happened when
Nicasio and his companions first arived:
Vénant Mbonimpaye, an African focolarino and a nurse, who worked with Nicasio for many years, recalls one interesting detail: "Nicasio refused to travel by car, as long as he was physically able to walk. In a place where everyone walks from A to B, he too, a white man and a doctor, no longer in the first flush of youth, always insisted on walking. As he walked along, like all the other inhabitants of Fontem, he greeted everyone he met, some in Bangwa, some in English. He was always surrounded by schoolchildren who were going the same way to school." Vénant presents Nicasio as doctor, surgeon, paediatrician and ....’general fac totem’: "After his experience in the Second World War, where he had saved many lives, he rolled up his sleeves to do the same again at Fontem, where sleeping sickness and other tropical diseases were decimating the population. Being often unable to rely on microscopes for analysis or on X-rays because the power supply was either insufficient or unavailable, he had strongly developed various senses such as palpation, observation, smell, intuition, touch and firsthand experience, to the extent that, for him, other aids had become almost secondary." A focolarino from Sicily and a cousin of Nicasio, remembers him as a medical officer in Greece during the war: "While the battle was raging he was assisting the dying and giving them spiritual comfort as well, for which he was awarded the silver medal. After the war, back in Trapani, he opened a surgery and put a sign up which read: ‘Free consultations for the poor’. And as if this was not enough, he also took food, clothing and money to the poor. When he walked down the street everyone would greet him and many mothers would say to their children: ‘This is your father, because he has saved your life.’ In 1952, he heard tell of ‘people committed to living the Gospel’ and he lost no time in getting to meet them. They were the focolarini, For Nicasio life, which he had already given totally to his brothers and sisters, becomes a total donation to God. He recognised the presence of Jesus in every person and left everything to follow him. At the beginning of the 1960s the Focolare Movement began to spread all over the world, and when Africa asked for focolarini, he left in February 1963. He was then 50 years of age, and he stayed there for 33 years." In 1995 and again in 1997 Nicasio suffered strokes which limited his movement and almost completely took away his power of speech. He would have wanted to die in Fontem, but in 1997 he was advised to return to Italy for treatment. "The night of the 19th Fenruary he was very poorly," recounts Franco Volpi, who helped look after him during the last couple of years of his life, "Nicasio," I said to him, "maybe Our Lady will come to take you." Despite being short of breath, he managed a smile. On 21 February, he slipped peacefully away, while his family and the focolarini were singing to Mary whom he loved very much and on whom he had modelled his life. Chiara Lubich emphasised Nicasio Triolo’s precious contribution to the building of an important part of the Movement in Africa. From that little village of Fontem, the Gospel spirit of the Focolare has now spread to every country of the African continent. (06-09-2002) |
| About us | Spiritualiy | Dialogue | Word of life | |
|
©
Copyright 1997-2002, by Focolare
Movement - Comments to webmaster |
Nicasio wanted to live, with the other focolarini, among the Bangwa, as one
of them, working with them for their development. Pa-Nicah,
they call him in Fontem, papŕ Nicasio. "And now he
too," says Martin, "will
become, for the future generations, one of their ancestors."