Adieu Padre – My Last Walk with Fr Giuliano Melotto CSS

Dan Marokane grew up under the guardianship and guidance of the Stigmatine Fathers in Letlhabile township, west of Brits. Earlier this month, his planned trip to visit one of them, Fr Giuliano Melotto CSS in Italy unexpectedly turned into a trip for the priest`s funeral. He relates his profound connection to the priest, and his final walk to lay him to rest in Italy. (See full timeline and pictures)

By Dan Marokane – The news of Fr Giuliano Melotto’s passing in Udine, Italy reverberated over thousands of miles away to Southern Africa, where he had lived for most of his adult life. Many of us knew that Fr Giuliano had been battling a hereditary type of bone marrow cancer for the past ten years. We are thankful to God for the gift of his life to us, and for me personally, that gift came into my life when I was only eight years of age in 1980, at the Sts Peter & Paul Church in Maboloka Village, north of Brits in the North-West province. I call Fr Giuliano Melotto my father, my guide and my shining light.

The timing of his death caught many of us by surprise, given how well he was doing lately, and his general refusal to give up on life. Fr Giuliano and I had been planning my partner and I’s visit to him in Gemona for the end of September.

Within the month of August, we had finalised the trip details and kept in touch to update each other on how the plans were unfolding. It was at the beginning of September when I reached out to him when he informed me that he was on his tenth day in hospital, but assured me that he was getting better, and he was looking forward to welcoming us.

“Dumela tlhe Bra Dan. Ke le emetse. Ke tla lo amogela ka diatla tse pedi, ka lerato, le ka tlhokomelo e kgolo,” he wrote. In English, it means “Dear Dan. I am already waiting for you. I will welcome you with sincerity, with love and with the utmost courtesy.”  His sudden passing away turned the much-anticipated visit into a trip to attend his funeral.

Before I tell you about the trip, let me give you a glimpse into who Fr Giuliano Melotto CSS was. For many of us, who encountered him in the parishes that he served particularly, in South Africa, and as families and as individuals, Fr Giuliano meant so much to us. As children, he played a crucial role in defining who we later became in our adult lives. He mobilised resources for our education and ensured that we were sufficiently fed, clothed and at all times spiritually nourished.

Many of us would have perished into nothing without his guidance and care during the dark days of apartheid. Given our dire situation as black people and the adversity of the apartheid system, it was through God`s will that a person like Fr Giuliano was present in our lives.

His teachings, and our acting them out, gave us the confidence to face what was otherwise a hostile environment for every black man, woman and child in South Africa. Fr Giuliano made us believe in ourselves.

He loved our families, and remembered everyone by name and their birthdays, even in his old age and after many years of not seeing them.

In turn, many of us youngsters who grew up under his watchful eye could not wait to inform him of updates in our personal and professional lives.

For my family in particular, his passing has left a complete parental void. He practically played the role of our third parent in our home, and his passing sees him join the other two who departed within the past five years.

My brother, Fr Steve Marokane, a diocesan priest in the archdiocese of Pretoria, fondly remembers celebrating mass with him in Italy shortly after his ordination. This was a father and son Mass celebration in many respects – a very special Mass for both of them.

Indeed, the successes of many of the children who benefitted from his fatherly counsel, his care and his guidance stands as a bigger monument than the majestic churches that he, together with his Stigmatine Fathers confreres, built all over Southern Africa.

The following is my diary of the trip, and the funeral in Verona: (See full timeline and pictures)

Sunday 17/09/2023: We are in Venice. En route to Verona by train. We will meet with our host, Stigmatine Father Gianni Picollboni CSS for dinner in Verona. Fr Gianni, or Fr Jannie as everybody pronounced his name, spent many years in the same Stigmatine Fathers community with Fr Giuliano in various Southern African countries, including South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania.  During the dinner, we will discuss and plan for the funeral tomorrow.

Monday 18/09/2023: The funeral service took place at 10:00am in the town of Tricesimo, on the northern outskirts of Gemona del Fruili, near Udine city, at the Sancturia della Madonna Missionari.

We left Verona, along with Fr Gianni and Fr Claudio Montolli, the Vicar-General of the Stigmatine Fathers, at 6:00am and travelled 280km east to the Requiem Mass in Tricesimo. There are almost three hundred people, including the Stigmatine Fathers, other priests and laity attending the service inside the Church of the Sancturia della Madonna Missionari. The main celebrant of the Requiem Mass is His Grace Archbishop Andrea Bruno Mazzacato, of the Archdiocese of Udine.

In his well-presented eulogy at both services, Fr Gianni remembered his fellow Stigmatine Fathers missionary and confrere. Here are some of the highlights from his presentation:

“An instant image that comes to mind about my fond memories of Fr Giuliano is the photograph of him taken just before he left for South Africa. The photo is taken on the stairs of the Sancturia della Madonna Missionari.

In it, Fr Giuliano is standing with Fr Michele D`Annucci, his fellow confrere and with whom he travelled to become missionaries in South Africa. The year was 1968. They were two young Theology students, and they were going to complete their studies for priesthood at the St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria.”

“It is always difficult to separate from a loved one. Especially one with whom you have travelled a good part of the way together. However, there is consolation, fuelled by our faith, which is the certainty of a life in God, which Fr Giuliano has just begun to live.”

“Fr Giuliano was one of the first of our Stigmatine Fathers priests to twin our projects in Africa with our Italian parishes. He did this with the parish of Cerro, and their parish priest Fr Tullio. Many volunteer men, women and children had the pleasure of travelling to South Africa, to the villages of Maboloka, Jericho, Kgabalatsane and the Mothotlung and Letlhabile townships to go and lend their hands in the building of our churches, schools, kindergartens etc. there.”

“Upon his return to Italy, and following countless surgeries and hospital stays, like St Gaspar Bertoni, the founder of the Stigmatine Fathers, he faced unimaginable pain from the amputation of one of his legs. Like Bertoni, he showed great patience and grit, enduring the pain and the many surgical interventions and the tenacious therapies.”

“Fr Giuliano understood that, ultimately the gospel could be reduced to five words which can fit on the five fingers of a hand. These words are “You Did It To Me.” Let us pray to God to turn a blind eye if a few grams are missing from the scale of his life`s fulfilment. They are a few grams which we will fill with our prayers.”

“You were like a fruit tree which generously offered good fruit to those who passed under its branches. And You Did It To Me. Good Son, P Giuliano. Mission Accomplished! Amen.”

After the Mass, attended by about two hundred clergy and laity, Fr Giuliano was laid to rest at 4.30pm at the Verona Memorial Park. Go weditswe (It is well, and it is done).

Tuesday 19/09/2023: We are spending the day with Fr Gianni Picollboni CSS. We are doing another sight-seeing tour of Verona, retracing the history of the Stigmatine Fathers.

Wednesday 20/09/2023: We are saying goodbye to Verona this morning.

After our last goodbyes to our wonderful host Fr Gianni Picollboni CSS, we are slowly making our way towards Rome, and improvising our itinerary as we move back to the planned original itinerary. The planned trip certainly did not start well and we can only hope and pray for the remainder of it. Fr Giuliano, we are, indeed taking our memory of you with us. You set out to evangelise, and one has to only look at the fruits of “Ditiro tsa gago” (your earthly endeavours). You are no longer in pain, but in the hands of the Creator whom you served. Until we meet again, rest in peace. We will miss you.

Dan Marokane is the acting CEO of Tongaat Hulett. The article was co-edited with Southern Cross features writer Daluxolo Moloantoa.