Martyr in China

Chapter 7. Conforti mourns his Son

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Tombstone of Fr. Caio Rastelli and Martyrs' Shrine at the Motherhouse of the Xaverians

Why was Conforti not informed immediately about the death of his first missionary? It was suggested that Manini had sent a telegram to Peking to Father Barnaba asking him to telegraph the news to Italy; but in a letter dated April 1, Manini clearly says that he had sent a telegram to Conforti immediately after the death of Rastelli, and perhaps Father Barnaba did the same thing from Peking; but there was a war going on and we can presume that telegrams destined for foreign countries were intercepted under the assumption that they contained coded messages.

Father Barnaba’s letter mourns the painful loss and praises Father Caio; but the most valid tribute is contained in Conforti’s own intervention during the solemn funeral celebrated in Parma on May 9, 1901.

He recalled Rastelli as a young seminarian, his “tireless application to study, fervent piety, extreme observance of the Rule, his virginal modesty; he exalted all these rare gifts through a sincere and profound humility that endeared him to all who came into contact with him. We should not be surprised, therefore, that the Lord has chosen him to work and suffer greatly for the glory of His name. Immediately after his ordination to the priesthood, he asked to enter the Xaverian Missionaries. His joy is more easily imagined than described, and from that moment onwards he had but a single thought and aspiration: to achieve the perfection proper to his state and acquire the knowledge that would make him a strenuous preacher of the Gospel”.

My dear students, the greatest human tragedy possible has befallen us: Father Caio is dead... The premature loss of such a strenuous herald of the Gospel has caused us great pain and we are in deep mourning. We remember our beloved brother and comfort each other with the memory of his virtuous life, confident in the knowledge that he intercedes in heaven for this humble missionary family to which he gave his name, and for which he generously gave up his family, his country, and his life.
Bishop Guido M. Conforti

He called to mind Rastelli’s spirit of mortification that the Superior had to moderate in order to protect his health. Rastelli was not austere in his behavior, but serene and cheerful and this endeared him to the other students. He was a much loved and revered vice-rector. “With these temperamental qualities he prepared himself to drink the bitter chalice that the Lord usually prepares for those Apostles He calls to share in His suffering”.

On December 3, 1898, the feast of Saint Francis Xavier, apostle of the Indies, “Fr. Caio consecrated himself to God by vow, together with Odoardo Manini, for the conversion of the many people who were walking in darkness and in the shadow of death. The Lord willingly accepted the sacrifice offered by his servant”.

The Founder pointed out that the mission entrusted to Rastelli was as vast as the dioceses of Parma, Piacenza and Reggio Emilia put together, located amidst steep and barren mountains, and that he had to travel continually from one Christian community to another to preach, baptize, confirm…He lived in miserable hovels and humid caverns, eating only a little millet and boiled weeds.

In a letter dated March 12, 1900, bishop Fogolla wrote: “Father Rastelli is up in the western mountains of this province, five or six days journey from Taiyuan. He has a great number of neophytes and catechumens in that area, and the lack of any kind of material comforts means that he must work hard and endure much suffering. This will not be difficult for one as virtuous as Father Rastelli, and he will be pleased at the opportunity to acquire many merits”.

The Founder commented: “The premature loss of such a strenuous herald of the Gospel has caused us great pain and we are in deep mourning. We remember our beloved brother and comfort each other with the memory of his virtuous life, confident in the knowledge that he intercedes in heaven for this humble missionary family to which he gave his name, and for which he generously gave up his family, his country and his life”.

The altar of the motherhouse of the Xaverian Missionaries in Parma, Italy

The dead still speak clearly

The sentiments that governed the life of Father Caio Rastelli are well expressed by the formula he wrote for the renewal of his vows on November 30, 1900 at Tung yangfang, in the Shaanxi, and pronounced on December 3, the feast of Saint Francis Xavier:

“O eternal and all powerful God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I, your unworthy creature offer myself to You body and soul, with all that I am and all that I have, now and forever. I renew my vows to observe perfect chastity and continence; a prompt, joyful, generous, unconditional and authentic religious poverty. I resolve to dedicate myself entirely to whatever work in the Mission or the Congregation that my Superiors assign to me”.

He then turned to the Virgin Mary, Saint Francis Xavier, the Angels and Saints of the Heavenly Chorus, asking them to intercede for him and obtain from Christ the grace of purity and holiness in thought, words, desires and deeds, to make the consecration of his entire life more acceptable to God.

The Founder was moved by some wonderful tributes that arrived from China: “The Christians remember him as a unique example of a holy missionary. He was splendid in his poverty, humility, meekness and piety. All who saw him pray felt moved to imitate his example. Though he was not given the crown of martyrdom, he was certainly worthy of it”. Nevertheless, today he is numbered among the Xaverian martyrs.

The Founder nourished a particular admiration for Rastelli. On many occasions he wrote to Father Luigi Calza, a Xaverian who was later to become bishop of Cheng-Chow, asking him to move the bones of Rastelli from Taiyuan to the Xaverian mission in West Henan: “Nothing would be better than to give a resting place among the members of our community to the remains of one who has left us such a wonderful example of apostolic virtues.  The dead still speak clearly!”

The plan was to bring the relics back to the Motherhouse in Italy. The Founder wanted Rastelli’s mortal remains to rest in the church he was thinking of building and which was always being postponed due to lack of funds: “ I wish to build a church in our missionary Congregation, and I, too, want to be laid to rest there one day. My desire is not dictated by vanity, but by my wish to obtain some “Requiem aeternam” (“Eternal Rest grant unto them o Lord…”) from those who will live here after my death, and to rest near my first missionary who generously sacrificed his life for Christ and “who even though they died young, their deeds are many”.

These requests date back to 1907 and 1910, but Conforti became more insistent in 1919 when he asked that the remains be given to the two missionaries who were due to return from China: “It would give me great pleasure to place the blessed remains of Fr. Caio, our first missionary martyr, in this chapel of the Motherhouse, where I could erect a suitable monument to perpetuate his memory and example among future missionaries. This would help me to continually inspire the generous resolutions of the young missionaries who are preparing for the apostolate. I long for the moment when this desire of mine will be fulfilled”.

His dream became reality only after his own death. In 1933, Father Faustino Tissot brought the remains of Father Rastelli to the Mother House. In 1942, when the body of Conforti was moved from the Cathedral of Parma to the Mother House, the remains of Father Rastelli were buried behind the Founder’s tomb.

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