Father

GIOVANNI DE MARCHI

(1914-2003)

Our Founder, Blessed Joseph Allamano had only just died when Giovanni De Marchi entered the minor seminary at Camerletto on November 15, 1926.

His whole life was a series of coincidences and chance encounters.  He was born on July 21, 1914 in a small village, Belluno, Riva d’Arsiè, in the diocese of Padua.  He went to elementary school in Casale sul Sile, Treviso, and secondary school at Camerletto and Turin until 1932.  He made his novitiate at Rosignano (1932-1933),  studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Institute of Propaganda Fide in Rome and was awarded a licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute (1933-1942).  He was ordained to the priesthood on March 13, 1937.  During the war he was the director of the theological seminary in Turin and then director of the house in Rome.  From 1943 to 1951 he was the superior and director of first Portugal and then the United States. From 1963 to 1970 he worked in the diocese of Nyeri as secretary to the bishop, Carlo Cavallera, and from 1970 to 1982 he was the first Consolata missionary working in Ethiopia since our expulsion. 

On the surface he would look like a wanderer but closer attention would reveal his solid foundation, something that became apparent in later years.  An evaluation written before ordination describes him as “good at everything, punctual, precise, a genuine scholar, he adapts to every task and assignment, in language study he will make the Institute proud.  He is a little absent-minded and does not realize how fine a mind he has.  He practices poverty, has absolutely nothing and is happy with anything – everything is fine with him.”  He was not someone who held back;  he accepted life’s challenges with enthusiasm, courage, ease and without guile;  he had no neuroses and was certain that every problem had a solution.

Father De Marchi and the IMC Foundation in Portugal

Portugal was a country that IMC missionaries knew indirectly from Mozambique and that showed great promise for our Institute.

In Acts of the Council, the Official Bulletin for 1943 mentions the erection of a house in Portugal:  “After arrangements through the Holy See for opening a house in Portugal had been concluded, Father Giovanni De Marchi was sent by the Institute to establish contact with the Bishops of that nation…”

On June 10, 1943, he went to pay his respects to the Bishop of Aveiro, Dom João Evangelista de Lima Vidal, who was happy to see a missionary seminary built in his diocese. 

He found the Bishop of Leiria, Dom José Alves Correia da Silva equally well disposed.  Father De Marchi went to the small village of Fatima as a solitary pilgrim;  he was a guest of the Soledade sisters and Rosina Freitas who gave him Portuguese lessons.  In times of inactivity he started writing two novels:  Titiri (1945) and The Daughter of Bramane (1946).  Aventino Oliveira was his close companion in those early days and recalls vividly how the people of Fatima would observe the young bearded priest who rode an old bicycle to nearby villages, went to the chapels each morning to celebrate Mass, and would seek out benefactors who would help him acquire land.  Initial contact was limited to silent looks but soon became friendly dialogue.

On October 3, 1944, before construction work had begun, he opened a minor seminary dedicated to Saint João Brito for some twelve boys.  It was in a small house near the “May 13 Pension” in memory of Our Lady’s appearance to the three young shepherds, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco.  He began to write about the Fatima apparitions:  Foi aos pastorinhos que a Virgem falou,  Seminário das Missões de Nossa Senhora de Fátima, Cova da Iria, Fátima, 1945; The Crusade of Fatima, Minnesota 1948;  Fatima, The Facts, Cork 1950; The Shepherd of Fatima, N.Y. 1952;  The True Story of Fatima, Minnesota 1956;  The True Story of Our Lady of Fatima – The Immaculate Heart, N.Y.    His major work was Era uma Senhora mais brilhante que o sol – 18 editions in Portuguese, 15 in Italian, 13 in English, 11 in Spanish, 8 in French and 1 in Polish, edited by Father Witold Malej, Matka Najiswi rosmawiaa pastuskmi (1988).  In July 1946, Da Casa Madre mentioned an article De Marchi had written for  L’Osservatore Romano that described our Institute’s house as the only religious house in Fatima.  He wrote for both American and Irish magazines.  “The Innocents of Fatima” is an article he wrote for Catholic Digest in October, 1952. 

In 1949 Father De Marchi traveled with the Pilgrim Virgin to the United States and with the help of friends and benefactors he raised funds for building a seminary.  The Archbishop of Aveiro, Msgr. João Evangelista de Lima Vidal inaugurated the first part of this new seminary and congratulations reached Father De Marchi from as far away as Mozambique.  On January 6, 1950, Cardinal Teodósio Clemente de Gouveia, the Archbishop of Lourenço Marques wrote: “Very Reverend Father De Marchi – to you and all your confrères and students I send my thanks and a blessing.  Rest assured that I am following with sympathy and interest your efforts to put down roots for your congregation in Portugal and provide Portuguese missionaries for the Portuguese empire.  My most sincere congratulations!”

In the meantime the work spread to other parts of Portugal and Father De Marchi could rely on a more numerous community: L. Bosio, A. Bianchi, G. Bollino, P. Bonino, L. Cavallera,  G. Gaudissard,  F. Maggioni,  A. Mongiano,  G. Morando, L. Ori, F. Peirone, U. Zecchinelli, Brother Michele Brunero.

The Institute was well established in Portugal:  on March 31, 1948 there were thirty-five high school students.  After attending the 1949 Chapter, Father De Marchi went to the US, visited the missions in Africa, prepared publicity material, and sent aid to the people of Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising.  In the United States he gave talks in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Boston and founded the Rainbow Mission News newsletter.  In May 1950 he returned to Portugal.  In the April 1950 edition of Da Casa Madre we read:  “Thanks to the unstinting efforts of Father De Marchi in the principal cities of the United States and Ireland construction of our seminary is continuing without interruption.”

Father De Marchi Missionary in Kenya

The time had come for him to be a missionary in Africa.  Kenya would be his field of endeavor.  It is likely that Bishop Carlo Cavallero knowing Father De Marchi’s abilities asked the General Directorate to have De Marchi at his side in the difficult time he faced rebuilding the diocese after the Mau Mau uprising.  The dozens of “harambee” schools in the diocese, the dispensaries, houses of prayer and catechism centers were in dire need of assistance and funds.  Father De Marchi with his vast network of friends and indefatigable energy was just the man for the job.  He became the focus of a variety of diocesan projects: churches, kindergartens, schools, youth movement and Boy Scouts.  The Peace Corps volunteers who needed spiritual and moral assistance to fit into Church jobs such as teaching or running a bookshop were close to his heart.

The Dream of Ethiopia

At that time the diocese of Nyeri included territories that would later be independent.  In the North there was the vast Marsabit area that bordered Ethiopia where in the early years Father Angelo Dal Canton had explored.  Bringing  Consolata Missionaries back to Ethiopia seemed a  possibility and as an American citizen he enjoyed certain advantages.  In a letter to the Superior General, Father Domenico Fiorina, he brought up the possibility of  Consolata Missionaries returning to Ethiopia.  He made a lightning visit to Addis Abeba and spoke with those in charge of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia;  they were willing to see the Consolata Missionaries come back but as social workers.  It was a return to the times of Barlassina when missionaries posed as merchants.  This old dream seemed close to realization when the Directorate was changed in 1969.  The Superior General, Father Mario Bianchi, informed his confrères that he had made a quick visit to Ethiopia and that he believed it would be possible to return to “serve that noble nation so close to the heart of so many missionaries.”  After three decades of silence a decree of the General Directorate opened the gates of Ethiopia once again.  We began work in centers for the handicapped, blind children and lepers.

But difficulties were on the horizon.  Father De Marchi’s health began to decline.  In an interesting article Father Aventino Oliveira repeats something De Marchi said in confidence:  “When I am no longer able to work, may Our Lady make me blind so I can go back to Fatima and spend the rest of my life listening to pilgrim confessions.”  And this is what happened.  As he had wished he died at Fatima on January 1, 2003, on the feast of Mary, the Mother of God.  He was 88 years old, a professed religious for 69 years and a priest for 65.

What others say …

Father Norberto Ribeiro Louro in the name of the General Council wrote to the Regional Superior of Portugal, Father Luís Tomás:  “Although Father De Marchi’s death was not unexpected given his advanced age and precarious health it has made a profound impression on us and left us with strong feelings.  It is true that the death of any Consolata Missionary affects us  but for the Institute, for the Portuguese Consolata Missionaries and for Fatima Father De Marchi’s death is something altogether crushing.  The man who has left us was genuinely charismatic, he was a missionary pioneer on three continents who overcame the greatest of difficulties with ease.  At the same time he could recede into the background with a modesty that knew no pretensions.  He had the simplicity and Gospel innocence of children and doves.  He looked upon his own enormous accomplishments as insignificant and of little consequence.  He was right in not wanting to leave Fatima.  He shared the message of “Senhora mais brilhante que o Sol/ the Lady who was brighter than the sun.”  His own life reflected the simplicity and transparency of those shepherds to whom Our Lady spoke.  With the name of Our Lady of Fatima in his heart and on his lips, and with the simplicity of the young shepherds in his heart he penetrated hearts and areas that were closed to others.  The Consolata Missionaries of Portugal were right to keep and love him to the very end without handing over the care he needed and deserved to others.  Thank you!  May Father De Marchi rest in the peace of the Lord and may we become worthy heirs of his style of doing good.”

With total dedication

“Father Giovanni De Marchi was profoundly identified with the missions.  He lived his missionary vocation with radical dedication – without hesitation, without fear and without respite.  He had the special gift of meeting people, making them friends and turning them into benefactors of the missions.  He talked about the missions with everyone.  He was a mediator, a bridge between the missions and benefactors …  He spoke about the missions with everyone, in and out of season.  His simplicity and sincerity disarmed people.  At times even the rich and the powerful succumbed to his charm, but he was a man without pose or artifice.  He made so deep an impression on people that they remained loyal to his projects.  Behind his simple façade there was an indomitable will of iron: he would reach his goals and carry out his plans.  His enormous accomplishments could have turned his head but he was a modest, unself-conscious man absolutely without vanity.  He paid no attention to himself, to his health or to his appearance.  I have known no other Consolata Missionary who raised so much cash but was not at all attached to money.  His life was one of deprivation and authentic poverty […]  He was above all a man of God, devoted to Our Lady of Fatima.  Many remember his daily presence, year after year, in the procession to Our Lady or at the recitation of the rosary in the Chapel of the Apparitions.  At all times and in all places he was there with the breviary and the rosary in his hands […]  We believe that Father De Marchi was a genuine source of blessing in our midst.  He was the founder of our Institute in Portugal and has left behind him an army of  friends and benefactors.  He is our connection to all these generous people.”

Father Luis Tomás, in the newsletter, “Encontro,” January 2003

Other Witnesses

“In 1975 Father De Marchi told me that when the time came that he could no longer work he would go back to Fatima.  He wanted to die near Our Lady of Fatima and on her feast day.  And this is how it turned out.  He has left us a powerful example of missionary life, of detachment and love for the most vulnerable.”  (Father Joaquim Gonçalves).

“I always had great respect and admiration for Father De Marchi but this respect grew considerably when I did some research on the early years of the Consolata Institute in Portugal.  My research revealed many, diverse talents that I would never have suspected in someone who appeared so simple and disingenuous and with whom I had shared daily life.  May we never forget him and may his life be our inspiration.”  (Father Manuel Tavares).

“We are convinced that Father Giovanni De Marchi is in heaven with Our Lady, the Consolata and Blessed Joseph Allamano.  He will watch over and intercede for all his missionaries.”  (Teresa and Paulo, LMC in Tanzania).

“I was upset and saddened to hear of his death.  There are special people who are destined to be guideposts on our journey through life.”  (Clara, a young woman from Alfena, Portugal).

“The love everyone felt for Father De Marchi was apparent on the faces of the missionaries.  Their eyes were filled with tears.  A family had come together to pay homage to the father they truly loved, who had given them so much.” (Georgina Duarte, MMC, Lisbon).

“All our lives are marked by what Father De Marchi accomplished in Portugal, the United States, Kenya and Ethiopia.  In the five years I lived with him I came to admire his “restless” manner of living the missions, his total detachment and constant concern for the missions.”  (Father Fernando Carneiro).

“As Consolata Missionaries we have one more important date in our calendar.  In 1926 after finishing his life’s work, our Founder Blessed Joseph Allamano went to his reward.  On January 1, 2003, the very model of a Consolata Missionary in Portugal, Father De Marchi has gone on to contemplate the radiant face of the Lord.  May the seeds of his life now thrown to the ground continue to produce new vocations for the missions.  Let me send a loving embrace from Brazil to the great IMC family, our friends and our benefactors  in the Portuguese Region.” (Father Albino Brás).

“The death of our beloved confrère, Father Giovanni De Marchi, is a reason for mourning for the whole of your Region.  We know what it means for our  missionary family.   He belongs to those pioneers who gave everything for the missions.”  (Father Francisco Lerma).

“May Father De Marchi bless the old and new activities of our Institutes and provide new and holy missionary vocations.”  (Sister Cesariana Corioni, MC).

“I worked with him in Ethiopia.  I believe he is now in heaven organizing solidarity for Ethiopian children … I am sure he will not fail to intercede for those he loved so much.  May the Portuguese Region receive all it needs through the intercession of Father De Marchi.”  (Father Alvaro Palacios).

“I have just read Father De Marchi’s death notice … I think of his pioneer qualities in Portugal, the United States where I lived with him for two years, and Ethiopia.  Even in Kenya he made an impression  He had only one concern in life: the missions.”  (Father Giuseppe Inverardi).

“In a relatively brief period in 1945 he prepared a book on the Fatima apparitions, Era uma Senhora mais brilhante que o Sol.  Father De Marchi was revealed as a skillful, moving, passionate and brilliant writer.  Without exaggerating this book was historically important and became a best-seller.  There were numerous translations.  Father’s account of events was the definitive description of the Fatima apparitions.”  (Father Giuseppe Mina).

(Our account of Father De Marchi’s life and work is derived primarily from articles in “Fátima Missionaria,” February 2003 and “Encontro,” January 2003).

Father Giovanni Tebaldi