What prompted you to write your letter of availability for the missions to the Rector Major?
Father Luis (Luigi) Bolla's testimony was my greatest inspiration to become a missionary. I was attracted by his close relationship with Jesus, his zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel, his love for his mission land, and his strong desire for inculturation amid the Amazonian culture of Ecuador and Peru. These characteristics, which I could see in his lifestyle, planted in me a restlessness for missionary life ad gentes.
As a Salesian coadjutor, Blessed and soon-to-be Saint Artemis Zatti had a great missionary spirit in his apostolate - which for him was the hospital. Do you also feel passionate about this aspect?
Yes, Zatti's missionary spirit led him to meet the poorest of the poor, people who were sick and had no chance of getting by. In them, he was able to discover the face of Jesus. While it was important for Zatti to give food and physical health to the sick, it was more important to give them spiritual nourishment and make them feel the love of Jesus. This is Zatti's way of evangelization, which is why, as a Salesian missionary ad gentes, I consider the figure of this great saint a significant model to follow.
Are you happy with the place you are going to? Do you have any fears or concerns about the new place, the culture, and its people? How are you preparing for it?
Since the beginning of my discernment process to become a missionary, I have felt very attracted to missions in Africa, so knowing that I will be sent to Congo is like a dream coming true today, a dream that fits into God's plan for my life.
Of course, I also have some apprehension about going to such a faraway place, with a very different culture and language. I personally feel that it is a great challenge, but I am not going alone; Jesus and Mary accompany me on this journey.
Do you have any role models of great missionaries whose lifestyle you want to follow in mind?
Yes, as I said before, my model is Father Bolla, whose quote I want to quote that reflects his desire for enculturation to achieve evangelization among the Shuar and Achuar: "I want to be able to live in the way of the Achuar; to dress, eat, live, work like the Achuar, without losing my identity as a priest and religious." All this inspires me to follow a radical lifestyle in the mission land.
What message do you wish to send to young people about the missionary vocation?
The missionary vocation is a vocation of service that comes as a loving response to Jesus. It takes the form of giving one's life to one's brothers and sisters, with a willingness to cross geographical, cultural, or sociological boundaries. Hence, my message to young people is to go adventuring with Jesus, that they should not be afraid to give their lives, their youth in the service of others. And really, I can tell you that it is worth risking your life with Jesus, it is worth giving your life for His love and your neighbor’s.
