Pope Francis honours ‘rebel’ priests censured for commitment to poor

Pope Francis was flying to Barbiana to pray at the tomb of Don Primo Mazzolari, who was an anti-fascist partisan during World War II who, like Francis, preached about a “church for the poor.”

Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to northern Italy on Tuesday to honour two 20th-century parish priests whose commitment to the poor and powerless brought them censure from the Vatican.

Pope Francis is welcomed by Monsignor Antonio Napolioni upon his arrival at Bozzolo, near Cremona, northern Italy, Tuesday, June 20, 2017. (AP Photo)

Francis flew by helicopter to Bozzolo, near Cremona, to pray at the tomb of Don Primo Mazzolari. Mazzolari, who died in 1959, was an anti-fascist partisan during World War II who, like Francis, preached about a “church for the poor.”

Afterward, Francis was flying to Barbiana, near Florence, to pray at the tomb of Don Lorenzo Milani, a wealthy convert to Catholicism who founded a parish school to educate the poor and workers. He died in 1967.

Both priests were considered rebels in their lifetimes and were censured by Vatican authorities for their writings.

At his first stop, Francis stood in silent prayer before the simple tomb of Mazzolari, who is considered now to be “Italy’s parish priest.”

Pope Francis greets children as he arrives at Bozzolo, near Cremona, northern Italy, to pray at the tomb of Don Primo Mazzolari, Tuesday, June 20, 2017.

He then delivered a lengthy tribute to the priest, quoting Mazzolari’s writings about the need for the church to accompany its flock that Francis himself could have penned.

Mazzolari’s social activism got him in trouble with church authorities: For a time he was forbidden from preaching outside his diocese without permission, and a magazine he founded was so controversial the Vatican suspended its publication in 1951.

Milani, for his part, also emphasized social justice issues, especially about the rights of workers to go on strike. The Vatican in 1958 ordered the retraction of a book of his on his pastoral experiences.