Am Mijares

Excerpts from the homily during the well-attended funeral of Fr. Silvano Cola, given by the bishop of Latina, Italy, Giuseppe Petrocchi

Fr. Silvano has completed his holy journey, and our hearts assure us that he now lives in the communion of saints in paradise. Even though we acknowledge the pain of detachment, today it seems right to put on the interior clothing of joy, appropriately expressing feelings of praise and thanksgiving.

I want to recall an event from 1969. Together with Luigi Bonazzi, my seminary classmate—presently the apostolic nuncio in Cuba—we went to meet Fr. Silvano. I don’t recall what he said to me during that meeting; however, I clearly remember the strong impression he left in my soul. As we were leaving, I remember saying to Luigi: “If St. Paul were living today, I picture him like Fr. Silvano, with his stature and mannerisms. This man was remarkable.”

Almost 40 years after that visit, I want to confirm my impression. Having had frequent contacts with him throughout this period of time, I am better able to identify today some of those Pauline traits in Fr. Silvano that have been generated by the ideal of unity (for which he gave his life to the end without reservation): freedom of spirit; passion for the Church; prophetic foresight; pioneering courage; an ability to dialogue on all fronts; confident perseverance, even in the most difficult trials; and a glowing witness of love marked by suffering.

I always found the heart of a father in him. It showed in his ever-present smile, his attentive attitude, always benevolent and never condescending; his essential and profound words, marked by brief sentences but often flashing a convinced, calm display, spaced with effective silent pauses.

He was intuitive and able to quickly get to the point. Moreover, he had a creative, robust and original intelligence, with the ability to dialogue about many topics. Every one of his expressions and gestures conveyed his welcoming affability—the contagious enthusiasm and infectious joy that results from living charity.

In his interpersonal relationships, he demonstrated profound respect: never imposing anything, always allowing everyone to maturely develop in the right way: from within, at the opportune moment and taking the necessary time. He fostered consensus with meekness, becoming a living transparency of the Gospel. His love broke down defensiveness and opened closed minds, even the most airtight. His was an art of understanding, offering consolation and hope. He was an extraordinary
teacher, above all because he modeled a life spent for unity. He had a strong interior life.

Everyone who met him felt that he was in their camp. To be welcomed in the great house of his heart meant inevitably to meet many others and become family with them. He formed many generations of priests and seminarians in the ideal of unity. God also gave him the grace to see a good number of them become bishops with his same dedication …

If someone should ask me “who was,” or better, “who is,” Fr. Silvano, I would respond: an authentic child of Chiara Lubich, a man of communion and consequently a man who became Church.

Yes, I want to say this with evangelical boldness: Fr. Silvano has made an important contribution to make the Church more one, more holy, more catholic, more apostolic. In a word, he made the Church more Church.