Fr. Sante Bertuzzo
Sandrigo (Vicenza), 20 agosto 1907
Parma, 9 ottobre 1974
Missionario nella semplicità e nel lavoro. Di anni 67. Sepolto a Parma
Nacque a Sandrigo (VI) il 20.VIII.1907 da una famiglia di laboriosi contadini, dalla quale erediterà il carattere generoso ed arguto, la nostalgia per il lavoro all'aria aperta ed il suo sogno missionario:
"...quando ero a casa - confiderà ad un Confratello - finito il lavoro contemplavo il declinare del sole, vedevo oltre i monti le moltitudini dei deserti e delle foreste, m'immaginavo di essere missionario ed improvvisavo anche delle prediche...".
A 25 anni entrava nell'Istituto Saveriano a Parma, dove iniziava nel giugno 1931 il Noviziato che lo preparò alla prima Professione religiosa emessa il 3.VI. 1932.
Assieme ad Andreazza e Frola egli formerà il "Trio dei Grandi Fratelli Savi" che caratterizzeranno momenti della vita saveriana.
Pur non avendo mai gustato la gioia di partire per le Missioni, la sua vita fu un meraviglioso servizio alle Missioni nei vari lavori che come Fratello Coadiutore svolse con dedizione ed esemplarità.
Fu per alcuni anni a Vallo della Lucania, quindi a Grumone, a Zelarino, a Desio, a Tavernerio, a Parma: nei vari lavori dimostrò chiara coscienza del servizio alla causa missionaria:
"....lo vedevo con gli strumenti del lavoro, indefesso, grondante sudore, annerito dal sole, pronto al sorriso, lontano dal vittimismo, parco nelle parole, sradicato dalla critica o dalla maldicenza, abbandonato alla volontà di Dio..." dirà un Confratello.
L'unico momento di distensione era per lui la Domenica quando usciva per visitare chiese o santuari, oppure si portava al camposanto a pregare e meditare.
Negli ultimi anni, a Parma, si era dedicato alla preparazione ed alla spedizione delle casse per i Missionari, dimostrando uno spiccato senso di recupero di tutto ciò che poteva servire ai Missionari.
Fu proprio mentre assisteva alla spedizione di un carico di casse per le Missioni, la mattina del 9.X.1974, che il Signore lo chiamò a sé per la meritata corona eterna.
Br. Sante Bertuzzo
Sandrigo (Vicenza), 20 agosto 1907
Parma, 9 ottobre 1974
Brother Sante Bertuzzo died of a heart attack at the Mother House in Parma on Oct. 9 1974, while preparing a few containers for shipment for the missions. He was 67 years old, born at Sandrigo (Vicenza) on Aug. 20 1907.
Brother Sante came from a farming family of the Veneto region, and he inherited from them the spirit of work and service, nostalgia for open air, and his dream of being a missionary. To a confrere, he said that “when I was a young boy at home, at the end of another working day, I would admire the sunset, and I could envision over the mountains and hills, the vast deserts and green forests… I would imagine myself as missionary, and I would improvise a few homilies…”
He joined the Congregation at Parma when he was 25 years old in June 1931, and at the end of the Novitiate Year, he professed first Vows as a Brother on June 3 1932. Together with Brothers Andreazza and Frola, he was called the “Trio of the Great Wise Brothers” which came handy for community gatherings and entertainment. “These three brothers showed us great maturity which was almost a guarantee for avoiding adversities, crisis, or temptations… they persevered and showed us many holy examples of faith… Fr. Bertuzzo had a robust built, at times rude, yet on his way of becoming gentle so much that he seemed another person. His work was carried on because of the mission cause, coupled with vigil prayers and unquestioning moral standards: his interior life, mirroring grace…”
Though he wanted to leave for overseas missions, he spent his whole life in Italy, doing various services at Vallo della Lucania, Grumone, Zelarino, Desio, Tavernerio and Parma. And he always served with efficiency and great dignity in all he did.
A confrere remembered Brother Sante with these words: “I could see him with the various tools of labor, committed, sweating through and through, sun-tanned, ever ready with his smile, away from feeling a victim, a man of few words, detached from criticism or back-sliding, abandoned to the will of God.”
The only time Brother Sante would relax a bit was Sunday, when he would visit a shrine, a parish, or a cemetery, and focus on prayer. He did everything with much serenity, and humility. “He was compassionate and generous, and spent many untiring hours listening to poor, workers, those in need. He heard often the long litanies of their troubles, and was able to bring comfort with his words, without preaching to them. Many cried at his death, as if they had lost a friend and benefactor…”
The last few years of his life were spent at Parma’s Procure, helping in the shipping of materials for the missions. He had a great sense of “recycling”, saving whatever would be most helpful to confreres overseas. And it was in the morning of Oct. 9 1974, as he was preparing another container, that Brother Sante had a fatal heart attack. The Lord called him home for his merited crown.
