(1929-2004)

On March 7, 2004, Father Piero Trabucco, the Superior General, wrote to Father João Venturi in São Paulo (Brazil): “Upon my return from Kenya a few days ago I learned of your profession anniversary (March 2, 2004). Although a little late I would like to congratulate you in my own name and on behalf of the Institute. Fifty years of service to the missions are a great gift from God to you, to the Institute and to the Church.” Father General expressed his wishes that God would be at Father Venturi’s side during his illness and cited a passage from Vita Consecrata (n. 20). Twenty days later on March 22 Father João concluded his earthly journey at the age of 75 after forty-four years of priesthood and fifty years of religious profession.
Father João was born on May 14, 1929 in Rio dos Cedros a small village in the state of Santa Catarina. After elementary school in his village he studied with the Franciscans in Rio Negro, PR (1943-1949) and Agudos, SP (1950-1951). On March 1, 1952 he entered the major seminary “Santa Teresinha do Menino Jesus” in São Manuel. year later he made his novitiate at Sorocaba, SP and on July 25, 1959 he was ordained to the diaconate in the Cathedral at Botucatú, SP. At the end of the same year he was ordained to the priesthood.
Father Michelangelo Piovano, the Regional Superior, writes: “Father João was a simple, hum-ble person – rich in faith. He dedicated his life to the poor and was willing to take on any assign-ment in the various Christian communities where he worked. He was known as “the Father of Blessings” – his blessings were always given with great faith and considered effective. People loved him very much.
He cultivated great devotion to the Eucharist. His first assignment was at São Manuel (1960) in an area of the apostolate that Father Giovanni Bisio had procured and turned into a missionary base for members of the Institute coming from Ethiopia and Kenya after the war. The first estab-lishments at São Manuel was the Sanctuary of Santa Teresinha and the parish of Nossa Senhora Consolata. Later there was a major and a minor seminary for training future Consolata missionar-ies.
Father Venturi devoted himself to the young candidates in Santa Teresinha seminary and be-came a sort of spiritual advisor. After a brief stay at the seminary he went to Rio de Oeste, an-other foundation linked to the memory of Father Bisio who had established a parish (Nossa Sen-hora Consolata) and a house for young missionaries there. From January 1961 to March 1971 worked in the parish as an educator and counselor.
He found parish work more amenable to his gregarious and pastoral inclinations. He showed the same dedication to parish work at Nossa Senhora de Fátima in Pouso Redondo, SC (1971-1976). From 1977 to 1983 he was back in the parish of Nossa Senhora Consolata in Rio do Oeste. He then returned to Pouso Redondo (1984-1988). Finally he returned once more to Rio do Oeste and remained there until 1997. By this time his health was deteriorating but he was still eager to work among the people.
After so many years of hard work and poor health he was forced to curtail his work and take up residence in the geriatric section of the Luis Bértoli hospital. He never ceased acting as a priest and continued pastoral work among the residents of the hospital and its environs. His blessings were especially sought after – as if they came directly from heaven. It was at this time that he came to be known as the “father of blessings.”
After a lifetime spent working in the vineyard of the Lord the time had come for him to retire and trust in God who never asks more of man than he is capable of giving. Father João could end his life with the assurance that he had done God’s will. In early November 2003 he began to ex-perience severe pain – a prelude to the stroke that left him partially paralyzed. On November 16, 2003 he was moved to the infirmary at the Regional House in São Paulo where he was cared for by Luigi Cason, the nurses (Eduardo, Antonio, Jonas and Wagner) and a physiotherapist. He was approaching the end and on March 22, 2004 he died of respiratory failure. He was 74 years old, a religious for 50 years and a priest for 44.
Father Michelangelo Piovano writes: “All the Consolata missionaries, sisters and theologians of São Paulo attended the funeral. Relatives (his sister and two nieces, all nuns) came from Rio do Sul, Santa Catarina. During the ceremony there were references to Father João’s simple and humble life. In the midst of his sufferings he lived a life of contemplative prayer which prepared him for the Lord’s eventual embrace.”
Father João Venturi was buried in the Institute sepulcher at the Chora Menino Cemetery in São Paulo.
Father Giovanni Tebaldi