Last December, Lucia Borzaga, the sister of
Father Mario, whose process for beatification is in motion, received notice
from the Acilia district of Rome about some streets dedicated to Oblates. Father
Angelo PELIS asked for confirmation of this from the appropriate office in the
city of Rome. The person responsible for the committee that chooses names, Doctor
De Pascalis, responded immediately. It should be noted that in Rome, street
names in various parts of the city are reserved for particular groups. For
example, many of the streets near the General House are named after popes and
cardinals. In other areas, they are named for literary figures or politicians.
Dr. De Pascalis indicated that in an area not
far from the sea, where place names are dedicated to “Religious and
Missionaries,” she had chosen some Italian missionaries for this honor. The
street signs have already been put in place in a relatively new neighborhood.
They read:
Piazza
Monsignor Lionello Berti: Missionario (1925-1968) - OMI Laos
Via
Padre Natalino Sartor: Missionario (1931-1966) – OMI Laos
Via
Padre Mario Borzaga : Missionario (1932-1960) – OMI Laos
Via
Padre Giuseppe Di Marco: Missionario (1906-1949) – OMI Sudafrica
Via
Padre Paolo Meroni: Missionario (1873-1939) - comboniano
Father Angelo was able to give Dr. De Pascalis
further information about the three Oblates who had worked in Laos since he had
been their companion in studies and in the mission. He pointed out that Fr. Giuseppe
Di Marco died at the age of 43 in South Africa, as a result of a traffic
accident.
