A veteran missionary reflects on the journey of the Xaverians in Brazil
here is no failure for the one who works with faith,” says Fr. Leo Occhio, 76, Xaverian missionary in Brazil.
When still a young seminarian in Italy, Leo was asked by his Superior if he’d like to work in Brazil. Without hesitation he said Yes. And there he has been ever since his ordination to the priesthood, fostering hope in the people of that land and announcing “Jesus’ Easter,” as he likes to say. Fr. Leo’s life story reflects the journey of the Xaverian missionaries themselves, who first arrived in Brazil in 1953.
Founded in Italy in 1895 to continue the mission of St. Francis Xavier (hence the name) in China, the Xaverians worked there for their first 50 years, until in 1959, they were expelled by the government of Mao Tse-tung.
From the very beginning, our congregation has had one distinctive mark: the universal dimension of mission and the contemplation of the Crucifix. The Christ that speaks to us is present in the so many who are crucified today and question and appeal to us
They did not lose heart, however, and understood that their mission hadn’t failed, but gained new horizons. So they spread out worldwide; they are today in more than twenty counties, proclaiming the Reign of God and denouncing all that is contrary to it. Of their new mission fields Brazil was one of the first.
“For me, to look back on these 50 years is like surveying a landscape and see again the paths we followed, the changes that occurred, the ideals which inspired us, to realize with humility that the events and the mission we received were always greater than our strengths, and yet to never give up and always persevere on the journey.”
A journey is the image which best describes the Xaverians’ 50 years’ presence in Brazil. Missionaries are always on a journey, on the sequel of Jesus. In this spirit, Xaverians have opened various paths in this great land. From south to north, they have walked with the people of city-outskirts, day-laborers, the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. They placed themselves at the disposal of the Church and were sent to places difficult to reach, inspiring the creation of Christian communities, promoting the realization of works to meet all sorts of needs, being present in the popular struggles of society.
The Xaverians are spiritual children of Bishop Guido Maria Conforti who found a religious family to go beyond frontiers, to extend the love of God to the whole world, above all to situations which lack the presence of the Church.
“From the very beginning, our congregation has had one distinctive mark: the universal dimension of mission and the contemplation of the Crucifix. The Christ that speaks to us is present in the so many who are crucified today and question and appeal to us,” explains Fr. Leo.
Witness of Solidarity - For Fr. Leo and his younger companions on the journey, “to celebrate 50 years of presence in Brazil also means to stop, try to understand and to thank God for the many lives that were offered.” We remember, for example, Fr. Albert Pierobon cruelly assassinated in 1976 in circumstances never quite clear; Fr. Salvador Deiana who died on the Transamazonic highway, in 1988, victim of a planned accident meant to kill the Bishop of Xingu, Erwin Krautler. They were on their way to celebrate Mass for a group of squatters who were reclaiming their lands, their rights, their dignity. And we remember others who, though still y0oung, died faithful to their mission. They did not leave grandiose works, just a simple meaningful presence and the gift of themselves.
Fr. Leo says that the most significant moments of his missionary life in Brazil were those that obliged him to change his was of thought, as “for example, in the changes of the liturgy where I saw the ransom of popular values: I saw women, the blacks, the poor, the young and children, prayer and group leaders reveal themselves, rediscover their dignity, regain self-trust.
The Xaverian missionaries seek to continue the journeys of Saint Francis Xavier, bringing the Good News of the Gospel to China and to other parts of the world. And today, many young people, especially in the “mission countries” themselves, leave their homes to become neighbor to all. For this, they leave all and take with them only something essential: the dream to make of the world one family.
This is what encourages even an “old missionary” to look ahead. “Even as we get old – says Fr. Leo – we need to look at the future of mission as Abraham did, as Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II, who had and have a vision of hope, knew and know still how to fire up the young.”
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)