Military life
I have been in the army for 19 years. I participated in missions in Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia e Iraq. I am a helicopter pilot… At the beginning of November it will be 10 years since I took my last flight…
At the age of 19 I joined the army, first in the artillery in Udine; it was Italy's most active corps, the only unit authorized to fire nuclear grenades; then I went to the non-commissioned officer school in Viterbo. During my time here, I realized that everything the Church said was true.
I began to think that if God was really God, it would be worth giving everything to Him.
When I was discharged from the army, I still did not know the results of the helicopter pilot competition that I attended. In 1994, I started attending Arezzo seminary and decided to join the seminary.
All was arranged and in the afternoon I said goodbye to my girlfriend. The next morning, while I was still sleeping, my father came and called me: “Dani, Dani, the police are waiting for you on the phone”. And from the other end, they said to me, "Lieutenant Leoni, you passed the helicopter pilot exam."
As soon as I put down the phone, I called the rector of the seminary and said to him: “Father Gianca, I appreciate the opportunity to enter the seminary, but I am going to be a helicopter pilot. Hi dad. Hi, Dad." Phone hanger. And I went to work the most enjoyable job in the world. You should do great things for your country, not just take care of interests abroad.
When you're helping people, whether it's resuscitating an injured person by taking him away from the battlefield, whether it's finding a lost person and going to a mountain rescue, or when you're engaged in combat. fire back, it's always a job of service.
Towards another mission
Helicopter piloting is a job that forces people to constantly confront life. Like in one night, you go on a mission in Iraq, with Simone Cola, someone you trust, and the next day that person is killed. Or when you return to Italy, two of your teammates die in an accident and then you go back there to replace them. With my friends we shared great things and I miss them. I miss the relationship between teammates.
The job of helicopter pilots forces people to constantly control themselves and their emotions. If you know that at 5 o'clock tomorrow you will have a mission and where they shoot at you and you have to shoot too, we don't need a lot of courage at that time but before that. That's where the fear comes in and you say to yourself, 'If I die, have I told my loved ones I love them?
Have I done something to make the world a better place?' Courage is needed when you have to climb into a helicopter and say, 'Fine, let's go.' You look at the guys. Boys climb into helicopters, you know their lives are in your hands, get started and do what you have to do.
Sparks under the ashes
Obviously, Daniele lacked nothing, but under the ashes still smoldered a hidden fire. Father Daniele tells of his decision to return to the seminary: In 2004, we were in Tallil, Iraq, a few miles south of Nasiriyah.
From kilometer to kilometer, there is not a single chapel. Think about it, when Bishop Angelo Bagnasco, then military vicar, came to visit us, I took him there by helicopter from Kuwait City, we celebrated Christmas Mass in grocer's tent, smelling of urine I leave you to imagine.
Prayer brings me great peace and sometimes a female corporal prays with me. We went to a parking lot so as not to disturb anyone and we recited Vespers. After a while, however, the colonel summoned me and said, “What a shame you are! Don't you know that an officer and a non-commissioned officer can't have a close relationship?!” I fell from a tree… but when it became clear, the colonel confessed to me: "Perhaps you're the only ones doing the right thing here." The American staff built a beautiful wooden chapel there. The people who were compatriots with the commander also gave us a bell.
Gradually, the spark under the ashes burned again. My life is beautiful, but I only feel moments of true peace when I am with God. Then I retired from the army and re-entered the seminary. I am here now. Previously I served one country, now I serve all people.
It is no longer a help given for this life but a service towards eternal life, where the source of all strength is Christ. Our battle now is not against the forces of this world but against the powers of evil. Satan is more active than ever and has stepped up his strategy by acting against the faith and against the family.
Faith of the Roman centurion
When asked what he would say to those shocked to learn of his wartime past, Father Daniele replied: “They need to read the Gospel. The strongest example of faith that Jesus encountered throughout Israel was the faith of the Roman centurion. A soldier stabbed Jesus in the chest as a sign of reverence. It was he, the expert of death, who recognized the dignity and kingship of Christ in his death. In the eyes of the centurion, Christ died a hero."