By Giorgio Bernardelli COVID-19 has also taken away Msgnr. Pedro Zilli, a 66-year-old Brazilian missionary who John Paul II had called to become the first bishop of Bafatà, the second diocese created in Guinea Bissau, in 2001. He was the Bishop of the suburbs, in a land of first Christian proclamation. A year ago, together […]
All Brothers
By Fr. Ace Valdez, PIME What follows happened to Fr. Ace Valdez, a PIME Missionary in São Paulo, Brazil. “On Sunday, a young man tried to rob me. It was from my chance meeting – which took place on the feast day of St. Francis – that I understood something more about my being a […]
PIME Mourns Fr. Nelson
Father Nelson Meshian, a young Indian PIME Missionary, died this past Sunday in India. Just as he was preparing to leave for Brazil in 2013, he discovered he had a brain tumor. His life was committed to the mission, within his suffering from a serious illness. PIME mourns the death of one of its young […]
The Unequal Fight Against the Virus in The Amazon
By Emanuela Citterio Sister Laura Cantoni recounts the drama of the fight against Covid-19 from the Diocesan Hospital of Parintins. It is a struggle with very few means and a great deal of dedication in the Amazon, which has been increasingly affected by the virus. “The great concern these days is that the virus is […]
Record Amazon Deforestation Amdist the Pandemic
By Andrea Guerra In April, the Amazon rainforest recorded a 171% increase in the rate of deforestation, the worst in ten years. Taking advantage of the controls made milder by anti-COVID measures, 328 square miles of forest were stolen, burnt down by corrupt farmers and ranchers. The Brazilian region of Parà was the most affected […]
The Missionary of the Sateré Mawé
By Giorgio Bernardelli When Fr. Enrico Uggé arrived in 1971, they were close to extinction. Today there are 10 times more of them, thanks to the Indigenous School. The boat docks and the children immediately appear on the bank. After all, it is a bit difficult to go unnoticed in a village like Simao, a […]
Amapá: 70 Years of PIME in the Amazons
Amapá: 70 Years of PIME in the Amazons Fr. Bouba Enock confers with a young man after Mass. Fr. Bouba and Fr. Giancarlo Vecchiato travelgreat distances to share the Word with 100 communities along the banks of the Amazon. By Ana Claudia Machado In 1948, Bishop Pirovano and Fr. Cerqua arrived in Macapá, where the missionaries […]
From Brazil to Zamboanga
From Brazil to Zamboanga Fr. Émerson Cristiano Gazetta and Fr. Paulo Cézar Dos Santos both hail from Brazil,but found their missionary vocation calling them to the jungles of the Philippines. By Gerolamo Fazzini The commitment of two young PIME Missionaries to one of the most remote areas of the Philippines is an inspiring one. They […]
A Missionary in a Rioting Prison
The story of Father Bosco, a PIME missionary who celebrated Mass on New Year’s Day in the penitentiary where 60 people were killed in a clash between gangs. The Archdiocese of Manaus states: “The root of the problem lies in the privatization of prisons.” Fr. Bosco had witnessed the tensions between rival drug gangs in […]