Cardinal pays tribute to late Italian priest

April 13, 2017

In a front-page article in the April 13 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia paid tribute to Father Primo Mazzolari (1890-1959) as one of the great Italian priests of the twentieth century.

Father Mazzolari was parish priest in the small town of Bozzolo. A scholar who wrote about St. Francis and Blessed John Henry Newman, he opposed the Mussolini regime and emphasized the importance of the poor.

Sanctioned for a time by diocesan authorities, Father Mazzolari was a friend of Pope John XXIII and praised by the future Pope Paul VI. Cardinal Bassetti said that Father Mazzolari anticipated themes developed by Pope Francis.

 

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Further information:

• Al passo del più debole (L’Osservatore Romano, p. 1)