The Passing of Fr. “Lucky” Peterlini

From Xaverian Mission NewsletterMay 2010

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The Passing of Fr. “Lucky” Peterlini

On February 16th in a hot afternoon in Sierra Leone, West Africa, a quiet, unassuming and overwhelmingly generous missionary priest passed away. His name was Fr. Luciano Peterlini, and to many who shared his warm friendship and pastoral zeal, he was Fr. “Lucky”.

He worked for more than ten years as a young priest in the United States, teaching in our seminary High School and encouraging missionary vocations among young people.

Prior to his departure to Sierra Leone, where he spent the last 36 years of his life, Fr. “Lucky” was an inspiration and friend to many in the USA.

Mrs. Anne Petrarca, a very close friend of the Xaverian Missionaries and Co-President of the West Essex Xaverian Mission League, who has tirelessly promoted the mission of the Church for more than 30 years, fondly recalls her friendship with Fr. Lucky: “In the early 1970’s, we were expecting the parish priest in Roseland, New Jersey, for Sunday dinner. He called and asked if he could bring along a visiting missionary. That began a friendship with Fr. Lucky that would last over 30 years.

“Fr. Luciano started helping out at our sister Parish, St. Aloysius in Caldwell, New Jersey. He would find time to come visit, share a meal and play catch with our children. He would ride around the yard in the boys’ go-cart. Then over coffee and dessert he would talk about the missions. When he came back to visit from Sierra Leone, he would always find time to visit our family and tell us about his life and work.”

“He shared with us that during the terrible war that was inflicted on Sierra Leone from 1991-2002, horrific times of destruction and murder followed. Yet these were his people, and he felt God calling him to minister to them. There was no where else he would rather be.”

In the last few years of his life he suffered from Parkinson’s Disease but continued to serve in the selfless ways he always did for the mission of the Church, to the poorest of the poor.

We are all indeed “lucky” to have known such a soul as Fr. Peterlini.