On Thursday, October 29, 2020, at the conclusion of the October 2020 Missionary Month, a missionary vigil was held in Rome’s Basilica of St. John Lateran. During the vigil, the Rite of Conferring of the Crucifix and the Gospel was performed for five missionaries who were leaving for different missions around the world. One of them was our own Friar Marcello DAGA.
His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal DE DONATIS, Vicar Cardinal of Rome, presided over this meeting of prayer and meditation. The theme of the meeting was “Here I Am, Send Me – Weavers of Fraternity” (Is 6:8). The event was organized by the Center for Missionary Cooperation between the Churches. Numerous faithful and representatives of various religious congregations were present as well and social distancing was observed.
During the vigil, testimony was heard from a Missionary Sister of the Immaculate who is a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), a missionary in Bangladesh, a fidei donum priest from the Diocese of Rome, and a missionary in Mexico. The Cardinal gave a reflection on the meaning of mission in the life of every baptized person, and what it means to be “weavers of fraternity,” ready, like the Prophet Isaiah, to respond “Here I am, send me”!
In conclusion, the evocative rite of the missionary mandate was performed for two nuns, a lay person, a priest of the Diocese of Rome and Friar Marcello DAGA, OFM Conv.
Friar Marcello, aged 60, is a religious brother. Originally from Sardinia, he is a member of the Italian Province of St. Francis of Assisi (Central Italy). He served for fifteen years at the Sacred Convent of Assisi, carrying out various roles: such as a tour guide for pilgrims and the Econom of the Basilicas. Each year, he created the artistic nativity scene in the Lower Basilica. He currently belongs to the community in Viterbo, Italy. On November 6, 2020, he will leave for Havana, Cuba, to join his brothers at the San Maximiliano M. Kolbe Friary of the Provincial Delegation in Cuba.
Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, the Director of the Missionary Center of the Federazione Inter-mediterranea Ministri Provinciali (FIMP), guided Friar Marcello and introduced him to the Cardinal Vicar. Friar Marcello commented: “I am really happy to have received this missionary mandate. The Crucifix and the Gospel will be my two traveling companions during this new Cuban missionary adventure.”
Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, Director of the Missionary Center
