The month of January—in addition to Alessandro's lectureship, which we'll tell you more about later—has been marked by the presence in our community of a guest who often returns to visit us at this time of year. This is Father Luis Albuquerque, a Brazilian priest who lived in Pavia during his early years of ministry (from 1984 to 1987) while completing his theological studies. He hails from the diocese of Rio Preto, where the brother of Msgr. Antonio Angioni (Bishop of Pavia from 1968 to 1986) worked for many years as a missionary. In the mid-1970s, he asked his brother, the bishop, to send several priests from Pavia to that Brazilian diocese to establish a major seminary there. From that wonderful experience, a bond was born between the two dioceses that endures to this day, as demonstrated by Father Luis, who never misses the opportunity to visit us every year during his summer vacation. The years spent in Pavia left such an impression on him that even today he speaks the Pavia dialect almost better than Italian.
Father Luis shared with us the rhythms of community life and some of the seminary's activities. Among these, he presided over the Mass for Vocations with the Friends of the Seminary on Friday, January 17th, and participated in the MoChi meeting.
During this time, we have had many opportunities to meet. On Saturday the 18th, we participated in a spiritual retreat led by Don Giovanni with the educators of the oratories in the western area of Pavia in Torre d'Isola, an important moment to refocus on the mission of the oratories within our ecclesial and social context. On Sunday the 19th, we participated in the Eucharistic celebration in the parish of San Teodoro, together with our "neighbours," as the parish priest, Don Gianluigi Corti, called us. The seminary, in fact, falls within the parish boundaries, which we visited last year. On Saturday the 25th, we experienced another event that involves us every year in Magherno for the feast of Our Lady of the Poor.
Over the weekends, we hosted several guided tours, giving many people the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the historical and artistic heritage of our seminary. Finally, our daily lives have been enriched by several university students who already share our "7 Signs" journey, who come to study at the seminary and often stay for prayer and meals. To them and all our friends who are currently facing exams...good luck!
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