After a car accident, Father Giorgio Ronzoni was completely paralyzed. Even so, he is still the pastor of a parish, thanks to the help of the parishioners.
Hong Shui - Vatican
One day in August 2011, Father Giorgio Ronzoni's car was driving at high speed on the road when a tire burst. The accident changed his father's life forever. From a 50-year-old priest, to a pastor for three years and then to director of the diocesan catechism office for 13 years, Father Ronzoni became a total paraplegic, from the head down.
The parishioners are the arms and legs of the parish priest
Can such a person continue to be a pastor? Yes, Father Giorgio Ronzoni. All of my parishioners decided that all together could be the arms and legs of their pastor. It is the parishioners of St. Sophia's parish, where the oldest church in Padua is located.
Run the parish with your head, not your feet
Father Ronzoni shared his feelings after the accident: “After the accident, I thought I could no longer be a pastor. For the first few months, I couldn't move at all. After 13 months of rehabilitation, my left arm was able to move a little. To encourage me, Monsignor Giuseppe Benvegnù Pasini sent me a French bishop's reply to his doubting father: “I think a diocese is run with the head, not with the head. with my feet…” But it was my parishioners who asked Bishop Mattiazzo to keep me.”
In addition to running the parish, Father Ronzoni also teaches at Triveneto's theology department. I can do it thanks to technical means: thanks to computers, thanks to mobile phones and tablets. I have 2 caregivers to help me 24 hours a day. The laity formed the association "friends of Father Giorgio" and they were always present with him. There is an elevator to take Dad from home to church. Friends gave him a car with a bridge and he was able to use his wheelchair to get in. As he celebrated Mass, two special ministers turned the pages of the book, placed the chalice and chalice in his hand, and they distributed Communion.
"Why not me?"
Asked if he ever thought about why this happened to him, Father Ronzoni replied: “No. On the contrary, I wonder “why not me?”. Why am I not the one who suffers, illnesses, difficulties, accidents? We all know pain and disappointment, we cannot be exempt from difficulties. This is not to say that I accepted the misfortunes brought about by the accident with a smile on my face. Losing your independence is a blow too hard, to get used to the idea that you can't do anything on your own anymore, even the most personal things, really takes time."
Paralyzed body, but “The Word of God is not chained”
As soon as the accident happened, did you feel betrayed by God? Father Ronzoni said two testimonies helped him during this lost feeling; those are Cardinal Martini and Saint Pope John Paul II. Both lived with the illness admirably. And then I meditated on the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, when Paul was arrested and said: The word of God is not chained. I feel a little chained at home, but like Saint Paul, I can meet other people. The word of God continues to walk, and my mission continues. I also reflect on the last chapter of the Gospel of John, when Jesus said to Peter: when you are old, someone else will take you where you don't want to go. Seniors come to me at the age of 50. When I feel betrayed by God, I have always been convinced that faith is not a spell so that if you are a good person or a good boy nothing will happen to you. There is always something going on with Paul as it does with other people.”
Illness does not mean loss of dignity
Father Ronzoni doesn't like to talk about himself, but he accepts interviews just to tell others that there are many other possibilities. Those who are living through difficult times because of illness, mourning, suffering, often wait for someone to say to them: look, it's not over. We forget to appreciate all that we have lost without thinking about what we can still do. I believe the disabled world can create a lot of autistic times in which every wish is exchanged for only one benefit, in which people think that life should only be lived if one has every possibility. power. I don't like it when someone, a sick person, claims to want to take his or her life "because I can no longer live in dignity". The noun dignity has two adjectives: worthy and dignified. It is true that many people in my situation do not live in a dignified way because they do not have adequate support and support. But this does not mean that life is not worth it. Life is still worth it, no one can take its dignity away.
Image of Jesus on the Shroud
Finally, the image of Jesus on the Shroud is a favorite of Father Ronzoni; it is the face of the Lord, immobilized but imparting so much strength.
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catholic