ather Leon Occhio celebrated his Golden Jubilee as priest on Jan. 26, 2008, a date that marks his Priestly Ordination. It’s been 50 years of dedication to the poorest of the poor in Brazil, ministering in the outskirts of Sao Paolo with the same enthusiasm of his younger days.
Fr. Leon was in fact one of the first to arrive in Brazil. He is a twin, born on Dec. 2, 1927 in Gallignano in Northern Italy, province of Cremona, a few minutes after his brother Tarcisio. He grew up in a family of eleven brothers and sisters.
He witnessed his brother Joseph depart as a missionary to the Americas in 1939, and so Leon decided to follow in his footsteps. He entered the Salesian minor seminary at Casale Monferrato, but soon after he decided to return to his family, because he did not find the right environment for himself. Once home, he worked and supported his family, while keeping in touch with the Catholic Action movement, which gave him the opportunity to nurture his religious and missionary vocation.
It wasn’t until 1948, at the end of World War II, when he decided to enter the Xaverian seminary in Ancona, and fell in love with this life. He noted how beautiful was the sunrise over the Adriatic Sea in Ancona.
After the year of Novitiate, Leon attended two years of high school in Desio, near Milan, and served as assistant educator to young candidates for missionary life in Cremona. “It is funny how education works, Fr. Leon remarks. It requires competence, energy and a continuous serenity to understand the various aspects of one’s life. I learned a lot during those years, with my eyes open to the marvelous gifts the Lord had in store for me.”
When in 1954, young student Leon was approached by the Superior General for a possible assignment to Brazil, thus starting a new mission adventure for the Xaverian Missionaries, his response was quick: “Here I am, send me.”
Leon reached Brazil during the Christmas Season of 1954, and was not yet ordained priest: “We disembarked first in Rio, and then in Santos, and what impressed me the most was the variety of languages, dialects, races and cultures. I had a feeling that Brazilian people were warm, welcoming and sincere toward us.”
I prayed that our Lady may give me the grace to love the Brazilian people whom I will serve for the rest of my life, as well as She does!
His first assignment was in Curitiba, PR, where he completed his theology studies. He took daily the public bus for one and half hour or so each way, and then more hours of studying at his desk. “Actually, I enjoyed the bus ride, because I could catch up with my reading material, and at times study too,” Fr. Leon remarked. These were indeed different times!
There finally was a great celebration on Jan. 26 1958 when Fr. Leon received the grace of priesthood ordination in Curitiba. After a brief visit to Italy, celebrating with his own family various Thanksgiving Masses in the Cremona area, he returned to Brazil. In his early priesthood days, he worked in Northern Parana, and then flew to Parà in 1961 to start the first mission there.
Four priests assigned to the whole Prelacy of Abaetè do Tocantins. “It was a challenging time – recalls Fr. Leon – for the means of communication in those days (and today, too) was a simple boat. We held meetings with tribes and peoples in locations who had never heard about the Gospel message, or were very unfamiliar with it. I was there for only 5 years, but those memories are close to my heart.”
Asked by the superiors to return to Southern Brazil, Fr. Leon continued to love the Xaverian family and do his best for the spread of the Gospel. He was assigned to the training of young men who were considering priestly and religious life, and in pastoral work in Parana, Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais, following the small Christian Communities established there and various Christian movements. Fr. Leon was indeed part and parcel of all the various activities witnessed over the last 5 decades in Brazil, following the celebration of Vatican Council II.
“The most meaningful moments for me – confesses Father Leon – were the times when I was asked to serve in different capacities, so often unexpectedly. The rise of the participation of the laity is one great aspect of my priestly service. They are well aware of the social and daily realities of their lives. I have seen how leaders were born out of our meetings and assemblies, women and men, young and old, poor and street people… all of them willing to give their input and insights in the various Christian communities. They want to share their faith, acknowledge their achievements, rediscover their dignity, communicate through art, music and dance their willingness to serve the Lord. They often need to restore trust in one another, own their dreams, and share their belief in a better world. All these events have changed me indeed!”
In a letter to his family, back in 1954, when young seminarian Leon reached the coastlands of Brazil, he wrote: “We went to Our Lady of Aparecida Shrine, where they are building a great cathedral to Our Lady, which will probably be finished in 20 years from now. I prayed that our Lady may give me the grace to love the Brazilian people whom I will serve for the rest of my life, as well as She does!”
(From Familia Xaveriana - Xaverian Magazine Brazil)