Martyr in Bangladesh

Chapter 1. Bells ringing in the midst of War

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Fr. Mario Veronesi - Martyr in Bangladesh

Father Mario Veronesi was not a man of theory, but a man of action. Unlike many people who speak eloquently of human promotion, Mario Veronesi was actively involved in it, getting things done through small daily concrete gestures in the front-line mission of Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, scourged by nature and by human history.  There he died, a victim of hatred, at the hands of one of the very people he had given his life to help. He was found on the ground with his arms spread like Christ on the cross, crucified for love. But, as we know, the blood of martyrs is never shed in vain. The good that has been done is never lost: others continue from where they left off.

Mario Veronesi was born in Rovereto, Trento (Northern Italy), on November 10, 1912, the son of Germano Veronesi and Albina Passamani, who already had five children, four sons and a daughter. Rovereto is a fertile land for saints: a great Christian philosopher, Antonio Rosmini, was born there on March 24, 1797, and later founded a religious congregation. The cause of his Beatification is in progress, though during his lifetime he suffered incomprehension inside the Church because of his ideas which were ahead of the times.

Mario Veronesi was born a couple of years before the outbreak of the First World War, a conflict that in the period 1915-1918 killed or wounded almost half of the 65 million people involved. The town of Rovereto was not far from the front and the sound of battle, the news of the Italian army’s victories and defeats in their clashes with the Austrians quickly reached the townsfolk. Italy finally won, but the victory came at a high price. In 1924, Father Antonio Rossaro of Rovereto had the largest bell in the world made from the bronze of the cannons used by the parties in conflict; it was dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Every evening since, its bells can be heard ringing in memory of those who died.

Every war brings mourning, poverty, hunger and hardship to all. The Veronesi family was no exception. They worked hard to make ends meet, the father at the local slaughterhouse as a guard and the mother at home looking after the family, but there was always need of more money.

The Cross on the Mountain

Mario first attended the primary school in Rovereto in 1918 when he was six years old. At the end of his school career he found work as a shop assistant in a grocery. The owner was very satisfied with his employee, describing him as an honest, intelligent and hard working young man. He was confirmed at the age of twelve and spent his free time at the Rosmini oratory. At the age of fifteen he was in charge of the aspirants and, four years later, he was president of the youth section of the Catholic Action Association. He had the stuff of which leaders are made. His friends remember him as a determined, plucky and courageous person. The Rosmini oratory, The Catholic Action Association and the parish were second home to Mario. There his faith was nourished and became stronger each day. He never forgot these early experiences and would remember them in his letters from Bangladesh to the friends who had shared this experience with him.

I am convinced that the Lord is calling me to the missionary life. I ask you, most Reverend Father, to accept me into your Congregation... I promise to obey faithfully whatever my future superiors command me to do and welcome this as the will of God.
Fr. Mario Veronesi

Mario Veronesi became president of the youth section of the Catholic Action Association in 1931, just when the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, who had been in power since 1922, was becoming increasingly angry at the association because of its continued resistance to fascist policy. A friend remembered him as a born leader: never one to make presidential speeches, he led by example, ever faithful to the rule of the association of which he was so proud: prayer, action, sacrifice; and to its motto: May Christ reign!

On September 17, 1933, 400 young people from Rovereto carried a great iron cross to the top of Mount Stivo, 6,000 feet above the town, to commemorate the 1900 years of redemption. Mario Veronesi, then 20 years old, was among the bearers. He was probably unaware of it at the time, but fate was preparing another cross for him to bear with and for the others, in the long climb up the mountain of poverty, hunger and egoism. 

Fr. Mario served at the Motherhouse, Parma, before his departure for East Pakistan

Knocking at the door of the Xaverian House

On April 27, 1940, he wrote to the Xaverians in Parma, expressing his desire to join the Congregation that had been founded by Guido Maria Conforti on December 3, 1895. He was 27 years old at the time of his application.  In his letter, he said: “I am convinced that the Lord is calling me to the missionary life. I ask you, most Reverend Father, to accept me into your Congregation. I hope that my age will not be considered an impediment. I will do my best to make up for lost time by acquiring all the knowledge needed to become a good missionary. I promise to obey faithfully whatever my future superiors command me to do and welcome this as the will of God.”

His application was accompanied by references from the priest of Rovereto and the teacher who had given him private lessons, praising his piety and his dedication to study and self-improvement.

His first attempt failed. The superior of the Xaverians told him to try elsewhere, perhaps the Salesians would accept him. Father Silvano Garello, the biographer of Mario Veronesi, believes that his age may have raised some doubts about the authenticity of his vocation among the Xaverian superiors.

He sought the advice of his spiritual director and then wrote once again to the Xaverians, “I have no wish to join the Salesians. I knocked at the door of the Xaverians because I hope, if it is God’s will, to join those missionaries who are spreading the Gospel in China”. His stubbornness and determination paid off this time: the Xaverians accepted his application. In the meantime, war had broken out. Mussolini dragged Italy into the Second World War and Mario Veronesi was sent to fight in Libya for some months. He could easily have avoided military service but he asked to take the place of a soldier who had a family. Later he confided to a friend that his desire to go to Africa was not the result of a wish to fight but, rather, to take the comfort of Christian charity, friendship and the faith to the native people. In the opinion of one of his fellow soldiers, he also wanted to put to the test his powers of resistance with a view to the missions.

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