Father Gerardo, the son of Giovanni Beretta and Maria Cambiaghi, was born on November 7, 1928 at Monza (Milan) and entered the Institute in 1946. He made his religious profession in 1951 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1957.
His life as a missionary can be divided into three distinct periods: thirteen years in Tanzania (1957 - 1970) where he worked in several parishes (Makambako, Kaning'ombe, Ujewa, Chosi, Matamba, Isimani); twenty-two years in the United States (1970 - 1992) where he was primarily involved in mission promotion but also spent two years as Regional Superior (1985 - 1987); ten more years in Tanzania (1992 - 2002) once again working in parishes (Wasa, Chosi, Iringa and Tosamaganga).
On March 30, 2002 - Holy Saturday - Father Dino was at the Regional House and asked me if I was ready for Easter; I answered yes. "I'm not," he said. He didn't feel prepared for Easter this year - but only a few days later the Risen Lord thought him ready for the eternal Easter!
For several days he thought he had come down with malaria and had been taking medicine. More likely than malaria it was probably his rising sugar level of which he was unaware. On Easter Sunday he celebrated Mass at Tosamaganga and appeared healthy - even vigorous. Several brothers and sisters later commented "After seeing him celebrate Mass on Sunday with so much energy it is hard to believe he is lying here dead."
On Easter evening Father Giorda had returned from the villages and met Father Dino in the house. Father Dino said he was retiring - he felt cold. Before going to bed himself, Father Giorda stopped to visit him but saw that he was sleeping. At 7 AM when he didn't come down to breakfast Father Giorda went to his room and found him lying on the floor in a coma. With the help of Fathers Ferraroni, Poloni and others they immediately took him to the hospital. At first it looked like cerebral malaria. Doctor Dalla Torre, a close friend who had taken special care of Father Dino knew he was suffering from diabetes and measured his sugar level - it was 500. This was undoubtedly the cause of the coma from which he never awakened.
At the hospital he was given all possible help. Two brothers and a woman took turns sitting at his bedside. Apart from the high level of sugar in his blood which was immediately brought within acceptable limits there were no other complications: his cardiogram was normal, his bronchi and lungs were sound. All the same his condition did not improve and on Tuesday morning Father Giorda administered the Sacrament of the Sick.
Early Wednesday morning after showing signs of improvement he went into his death agony at 8:30 AM. Father Giorda, the Bishop of Iringa and I were present. At 10:50 AM he went to Our Father's House. We presented him to the Lord with all the ritual prayers.
In the early afternoon he was dressed in a cassock, a cross was laid on his breast and a rosary put in his hands and he was carried to the Clergy House. The rosary in his hands represented more than a ritual gesture - it reflected his life-long practice. We were all aware of his great devotion to the rosary. It was so frequently in his hands - he prayed it often during the day.
With all its institutions Tosamaganga continues to be "God's Little City" as it was called in a famous 1950's documentary that spread its fame throughout Italy, Europe and America. Hundreds come to visit it, to pray and to sing. Father Dino's wake lasted all night long. Both men and women Consolata missionaries were present along with many Teresian sisters, SCIM Brothers, students from the pre-seminary and the many schools and the faithful of Tosamaganga. So many people and so much prayer! So much hope in those Easter hymns!
These prayers alone should suffice to guarantee eternal rest to Father Dino - a man who was always in a hurry. A man in a hurry, a man of strength. He was strong of gait, voice, gesture and character. A quotation from Mike Ditka found in his room pretty much sums up his life: "You're never a loser until you quit trying." And there's no doubt that Father Dino never quit trying.
He wrote down his feelings, ideas and suggestions on everything in long "memoranda." His appraisals of events, people and situations were often insightful and sometimes they were off the mark but they were evidence of his interest and passion for the world around him. He was a courageous man.
He campaigned for the means of communication and if he had an avocation it was surely that of a writer. He didn't have the patience to learn how to use a computer but his little typewriter was in constant use. He collected and published a wide variety of information about Africa. He consumed newspapers and couldn't conceive of a missionary who didn't read the newspaper!
At 10:30 AM on April 4, his body was carried in procession to the church where many came to pray. People came from everywhere to attend his funeral. Our confrere, Msgr. Evaristo Chengula and others came from Mbeya. Father Justin Sapula, the Vicar General, and others came from the diocese of Njombe where Father Dino had worked.
The Bishop of Iringa, Msgr. Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa, presided at the Eucharist - he was assisted by Msgr. Stani Daki, the Vicar General, and myself. In all some fifty-two priests took part - twenty-seven were Consolata missionaries. Among the Consolata missionaries who celebrated this memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord were our brothers Paolino Rota and Boniface Mutisya along with many of our sisters. The large church at Tosamaganga was full and echoed the Easter hymn, "O death where is thy sting?"
The Bishop began his homily with the readings of the day. Then he spoke about Father Dino's personality and the places were he had worked as a missionary: Makambako, Kaning'ombe, Ujewa, Chosi, Matembwe, Isimani. After spending twenty-two years in the United States (1970 - 1992) Father Dino returned to Tanzania. Father Dino wrote that he wanted to live in a place of poverty. He worked at Kigamboni, Mgongo, Chosi, Wasa, the Regional House and Tosamaganga from whence he was called to his "missionary's reward" - as Allamano called it.
After Mass the long procession headed to the cemetery where missionaries have been buried for more than a century, beginning with those who first brought the Gospel to this area - the Benedictines of St. Ottilie. The burial rite respects Wahehe custom and is fairly long. Song accompanies the rite. A cross, traced with the cross that will temporarily remain on the tomb, is the last ritual performed on the earth that accepts the missionary's body - as a the seed for the new life. In the cross is the resurrection.
In conclusion I would like to thank everyone. I thank God for the gift of Father Dino's person, life, talents and missionary ministry. I thank the bishops, the fathers, the sisters and the brothers who came in such large numbers and from so far away to see him off on his journey to the Lord. I thank the young people from the Tosamaganga schools and the faithful of the parish who kept vigil, prayed and sang of life and resurrection around Father Dino's body. I thank those who assisted him in his brief illness and at his burial.
Thanks on behalf of the missionaries is from the heart - our farewell to Father Dino is something we felt intensely. As he was leaving the cemetery Doctor Dalla Torre remarked that he too would like a funeral like this and a burial in this cemetery. He was right - the whole event was Paschal. Whoever is buried at Tosamaganga is never forgotten.
Father Dino has now been laid to rest in this cemetery. At times like this I always think of St. Augustine's words at the funeral of one of his brother bishops: The real sepulchre is not the earth or the marble - it is the heart. Earth and marble receive only the mortal remains but the heart receives and keeps the memory of our beloved departed.
Memory of Father Dino is manifold: his mercy, his generous readiness to help, his spirit of prayer, his ability to dream, his love for Africa. He wrote that it had always been his wish. He collected an enormous amount of material about Africa that he published in a book, "L'Africa prima di Cristo / Africa Before Christ." In his book he expressed his intention "to dig deep into Africa's past to discover its long periods of glory, its stubborn battle against a climate that made life difficult, its triumphs in showing how a simple life could satisfy man and bring him closer to God." Even if the book has little scientific value it was evidence of his interest in and love for this land.
Father Dino lives on in the support group he founded in 1992 before returning to Africa. It bears the name of his hometown "Villasanta 2 - Operazione Tanzania." This group with its many projects has provided enormous support for the building and maintenance of various Consolata and non-Consolata missionary projects. Some group members have spent months working generously in Tanzania.
Father Dino was a man in a hurry and now he rests in the Lord. We remember him with gratitude and affection.
Father Giuseppe Inverardi

When he was at the Regional House in Iringa he sent me a brief update: "Ciò che è accaduto … / What has been going on …" He had been at Tosamaganga for about a year and had no car. He was forced to use other people's cars - but I never heard him complain. On Sunday he went out to say Mass. On Easter Sunday he celebrated the second Mass at Tosamaganga.

I noticed his generosity and could mention something special he did for me. Whenever he left Tosamaganga he would bring something back for me: bananas, oranges, apples, pears, eggs, biscuits, drinks, etc. When I asked him to buy something for me he would never let me give him the money. Maybe because I am an old man he was always very kind to me.
On Easter Monday I learned that he had been taken to the hospital. On Tuesday I went to visit him - but he understood nothing. On Wednesday I went to the hospital again. When I got there they told me "He has just gone to Our Father's house." I raised my arms and wept.
Father Olivo Rambaldo

When I was at the parish in Iringa I would hear mention of "Baba wa Ndoa" every now and then. I tried to find out who this was. Isimani Christians told me this was an honorific title bestowed on Father Dino when he was the pastor - his major apostolic concern was to marry in church as many Christian couples as possible. He sought out all those couples whose situation was irregular and wouldn't leave them in peace until their marriages had been blessed at the altar. He displayed this same "holy mania" in all the other missions where he carried out his ministry.
In the final years of his life Father Dino became a tireless reader of African newspapers and magazines and publications from other countries with articles about the African continent. His view of these writings was often dim but when he came across something positive he was quick to point it out. Recently he took up the thesis of a compatriot of his on "archeological sites" in Tanzania - an important contribution to the knowledge of his adopted country.
We should also mention Father Dino's book, "Africa Before Christ." The book stirred up considerable interest for those working in this field and was further evidence of Father's special love for Africa.
Father Egidio Crema

Dear Father Dino - whenever I greeted you, you would respond with a slight nod of the head. Holy Saturday, however, was very different. When we met, you asked me if I was ready for Easter. I said, "Yes." You replied "I'm not." We shook hands and exchanged Easter greetings. You had a beautiful smile on your face. Two days later I learned that you were in the hospital and your health was in serious danger. I visited you twice in the hospital and saw your sufferings. I prayed Our Lord, Our Lady - the Consolata - and Blessed Allamano that your health might be restored. This was not to be the case. You went home to Our Father. Before your coffin was closed I looked at your face and said: "Ciao, Father Dino and thank you for that last smile. It will constitute my memory of you."
Giovanna Inverardi