IN THE DEATH OF A SENIOR PRIEST

«Ongoing formation must also concern those priests who due to their advanced age are referred to as elders and who in some Churches are the largest part of the presbyterate. This must give them gratitude for the faithful service they have reserved for Christ and the Church and concrete solidarity for their condition".

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The news of the discovery in his rectory (who) of the lifeless body of a priest takes us by surprise and fills us with dismay at the circumstances.

In fact, it seems to have been a voluntary gesture, still in the assessment and definition phase. The priest was called Lino Zatelli, of years 75, per 24 year old, from the 2001, parish priest of the Clarina community (Trento), but also chaplain of the State Police and organizer of multiple pilgrimages.

The condolences for his passing were unanimous and it came from all the representatives of the communities where Don Lino lived, also because he left a positive testimony everywhere. But the newspapers also speak of a transfer of the parish which should have taken place next November and which, always according to what the newspapers report, it would have been poorly digested by the priest who expressed himself thus when giving the news: «We will stay together until November, we don't pull the oars on the boat, much less me. I never asked to leave, nor from Vallarsa, right from Meano, nor from here. These 24 years cannot be forgotten" (who).

His own parishioners with other admirers they had contested the change of parish, even launching an online petition that reached hundreds of signatures, so long as, according to the promoters of the initiative, Don Lino couldn't understand the reason for the transfer, which was supposed to happen in the fall. In front of this, as with other painful circumstances, the best path is that of silence and prayer, in this case of suffrage for the soul of this priest. But, if we are allowed, we just add a few quiet words and a short testimony.

The Code of Canon Law all no 538 and paragraph 3 so it goes:

«I turned seventy-five years old, the parish priest is invited to present his resignation from office to the diocesan bishop, who, considering every circumstance of person and place, decide whether to accept it or defer it; the diocesan Bishop must adequately provide for the support and housing of the renouncer, awaited the regulations issued by the Episcopal Conference".

Don Lino had precisely 75 year old and was about to be transferred to another position, perhaps less burdensome than the previous one, we do not know, but still a pastoral role. An event that happens more and more frequently due to the lack of priests, therefore even elderly priests are called to remain in the breach, how do you say, for the good of the faithful, even just to carry out essential tasks such as administering the sacraments and of course, among these, the celebration of the Eucharist, often in so-called pastoral units or areas. And it was precisely to one of these that he was about to be transferred.

The Supreme Pontiff Francis in September of 2021 he wrote that elderly priests are not «just an object of assistance, but active protagonists of the community" because they are "bearers of dreams full of memory and therefore very important for the young generations". From them, added the Pontiff in the letter written for the Fraternity Day of the Lombard clergy: «the sap comes to flourish in Christian life and ministry». The Pontiff concluded: «I ask you, please, to pray for me who am a little old and a little sick but not too much!». «You are living a season, old age, which is not a disease, but a privilege", the privilege of "resembling Jesus who suffers" (who).

For further information you can also read the «Directory for the ministry and vision of priests» issued under Benedict XVI in 2013, which refers to the Pastores dabo vobis of the Holy Pontiff John Paul II, the 1992, which at no 77 so it goes:

«Ongoing formation must also concern those priests who due to their advanced age are referred to as elders and who in some Churches are the largest part of the presbyterate. This must give them gratitude for the faithful service they have reserved for Christ and the Church and concrete solidarity for their condition".

Words are always important and comforting, but perhaps some older priests, after many years of ministry they also need concrete gestures of closeness, of understanding their difficulties and listening to their wishes, even if it was not to be transferred, after having served one or more communities for a long time and where you are still well-liked and respected. Of course, each case is different, Precisely for this reason, especially towards the most fragile, that personal care is needed, which sometimes borders on patience, but which always takes into account personal and priestly dignity, especially when dealing with someone who has spent his entire life for the church, sometimes in a dark and hidden way, doing good.

Without judging, I therefore allow myself to report a first-hand testimony. An old priest from a Tuscan diocese past the age of eighty, 37 of which lived in the service of the same parish, asks his Bishop to be able to withdraw. The prelate understands, but he continually sends the elderly priest back, who to be honest still shows a good temper and enviable ability to resist. Until he just can't take it anymore and the Bishop finds himself forced to accept the resignation. The old priest moves to a facility for the elderly not far from his old parish. What do lay people do about this, in agreement with the new parish priest who, among other things, finds himself managing his own parish and also that of the now former parish priest and having to celebrate four Holy Masses every Sunday? They draw up a list of volunteers who go to pick up the elderly priest every Sunday and take him back to his old parish where he can celebrate the afternoon Eucharist, meeting again the people he knew and all those who had shared the joys and sorrows of the pastoral ministry with him. You can imagine what happened after Mass? How many greetings, how much advice and smiles he could still distribute? And because he was an intelligent person, he did not judge the changes brought about by the new parish priest, happy to still enjoy his parish with that freedom given by being exempt from the obligation of service.

When after a few years he suffered a stroke and transferred to a facility that takes care of non-self-sufficient elderly people, the laity continued every Sunday, in turn, to go and see him. Of course, the family took care of the essential things, the nephew, but it was never abandoned, not even a Sunday. When the younger parish priest who had replaced him went to visit him once, he saw him arrive in a wheelchair pushed by a healthcare worker. In his hand he held a cigarette. To the stupid question from the younger priest about his resumption of an ancient vice that he had abandoned many years ago, here's how the old man replied: «What do you want me to have a cigarette every now and then, that kills me?». And they both smiled.

When he died and his funeral was celebrated in his old parish with the Archbishop, much of the presbytery, family members and a large crowd of people. His remains still rest in the small church in the cemetery not far from that parish where he had officiated for more than 37 year old.

It's just an example, a fact that is neither newsworthy, nor does it argue in favor of a general rule of conduct. He just wants to tell you that it is possible to take care of our elderly, considering an old priest as one of the family, or turn around, still part of a community, even if he left her. So that what the Scripture says is true and credible:

«love each other intensely, from the heart, each other, regenerated not from a corruptible but an incorruptible seed, through the living and everlasting word of God." (1PT 1,22).

From the Hermitage, 15 August 2026

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