P. Pierino Villani
Pellegrino Parmense (Parma), 3 luglio 1920
Parma, 24 agosto 1978
Missionario per 25 anni in Sierra Leone, di anni 58. Sepolto nel Paese d'origine
Nato a Pellegrino Parmense il 3.VII.1920, a 14 anni entrava nella Scuola Apostolica Saveriana di Vicenza.
Dotato di volontà ferrea e di un grande desiderio di riuscire a sfondare qualsiasi barriera, percorse il "curriculum" normale degli studi.
Il 27.X.1940, a 20 anni, emise la prima Professione religioso-missionaria nella Famiglia Saveriana. Ordinato Sacerdote il 7.III.1948, per 4 anni fu destinato alla Casa Saveriana di Vallo della Lucania.
Nel novembre 1953, a 33 anni, partiva per la Sierra Leone, dove lavorò per 25 anni unendo assieme le fatiche del lavoro missionario con i continui dolori che il fisico gli causava. Esercitò l'attività apostolica nelle Stazioni Missionarie di Mange-Bureh, Port-Loko, Makeni, Masongbon.
Dopo 12 anni, nel 1965, fu nominato Superiore Religioso dei Saveriani della Sierra Leone. In tale incarico, che ricoprì per sei anni, si contraddistinse per la grande disponibilità verso i Confratelli che sapeva rallegrare in un suo modo particolare.
Annota P. Serafino Calza:
"Era imbattibile e faceva ridere di gusto tutti i presenti quando imitava i Confratelli. Li scimmiotava nelle loro debolezze. Non offendeva mai. Sapeva fare con arte e delicatezza... Poi aveva un'inesauribile riserva di barzellette. Un brio unico nel raccontarle... Il momento più doloroso della sua vita, negli anni in cui era Superiore - ricorda ancora P. Calza - fu quando P. Giovanni Restagno mori annegato nel torrente di Makonkorrie. Le ricerche del cadavere continuarono per tre giorni. Era la stagione delle piogge. Il povero Villani sembrava diventato uno spettro. Non dormiva più da tre notti. Girava su e giù tra la gente, ogni tanto si copriva il volto con le mani rigate di pianto... ".
Già da tempo sofferente a causa di disturbi che avevano resi necessari diversi interventi chirurgici in precedenza, nel luglio 1978, le sue condizioni fisiche peggiorarono completamente. Rientrato in Italia, all'Ospedale Maggiore di Parma, fu tentato un intervento chirurgico. Logorato dal tumore, moriva in Casa Madre il 24.VIII.1978.
Fr. Pierino Villani
Pellegrino Parmense (Parma), 3 luglio 1920
Parma, 24 agosto 1978
Fr. Pierino Villani died at the Mother House in Parma, following a liver tumor operation, on Aug. 24 1978. He was 58 years old, born on July 3 1920 at Pellegrino Parmense (Parma).
When he was only 12 years old, his mother died, and it seems that on her deathbed, she whispered the desire that one of her children become priest. He entered the Xaverians at Vicenza, when he was 14 years old, with a iron will and a great desire to succeed in everything. He started Novitiate at S. Pietro in Vincoli on Sept. 8 1939, and the next year professed First Vows on Oct. 27 1940. He was ordained a priest on March 7 1948, and soon after was assigned to Vallo della Lucania, where he worked for four years.
At the age of 33, in November 1953, he departed for Sierra leone, where he worked for 25 years in various mission stations: Mange-Bureh, Port Loko, Makeni, and Masongbon.
While he was at Mange-Bureh, Msgr. Azzolini remembers: “…Considering the personnel we had, I asked him to replace Fr. Olivani who was recalled in Italy. Fr. Villani stayed there for many years, doing lots of good. He would follow the education of the students, and the formation of catechumens. He also reached out to the clinic patients at Mange-Bureh, run by a Xaverian brother, spending time with them and bringing comfort to the sick.”
After 12 years of this service, he was named Regional Superior of Sierra Leone in 1965, a responsibility he carried with love and availability for six years. “He was Religious Superior for six years… – recalls Fr. Serafino Calza – He tended to be impulsive and rough at times, but always sincere. He used to say things as they were, in people’s faces, thus receiving the liking of everyone…
The hardest moment of his tenure as superior was the event of the death of our confrere Fr. Giovanni Restagno, who drown in the river Makonkorie on Aug. 21 1966. The search for his body lasted three days. It was the rainy season in full swing. Poor Fr. Villani seemed a corpse himself. He could not close eyes for three nights. He went up and down, among the people, and at time would cover his face with hands full of tears…”
Fr. Pellizzari wrote: “Humility stood out in him. He would complain when someone would take advantage of him, because he could never say no. Then, he would exclaim: ‘Is it possible that the poor Villani has to be fill in everywhere?’ And yet, he would do a good job, and many would rather go to him and endure his frequent rough temper. Then, he would laugh about it in the evening gatherings at the Domus of Makeni. By the way: he was of great company. As a typical person from Parma, he would tease and tell jokes continuously. He even received jokes from Indonesia.”
Fr. Villani returned back to Italy in July 1978 because of continuous physical problems, which finally required operation at the hospital in Parma. Unfortunately, the tumor had the best of his life, and died on Aug. 24 1978.
