Joyful event for our Congregation

Interview with the new priest Don Giovanni Russo

by Bruno Capparoni

Don Giovanni Russo is a young man of 29 years old, born and raised in the suburbs of  Messina, at the Aldisio Village. After  having made the decision to consecrate himself to God among the Guanellians, he was ordained a priest last April 24 in the Cathedral of Messina. The archbishop of Messina, Monsignor Giovanni Accolla, laid his hands on him for the Holy Order; the following day he celebrated the First Holy Mass in his home parish. We asked him some questions.

Dear Don Giovanni, while I send you my fraternal best wishes, tell us something about yourself? When did you feel the call to the priesthood? 

I must say that the Lord made me perceive this call in particular during two pastoral experiences in 2009: the first, a parish school camp in Raffadali (AG), where for the first time I approached the sacraments of Reconciliation and 'Eucharist; the second, the New Year of service and volunteering, experienced at the “Casa San Giuseppe” rehabilitation center in Rome, with a first contact with the Guanellian charisma and spirituality. Precisely in this circumstance I was able to experience the invitation to give myself for the least, thanks also to the example of the brothers present in that experience.

 How has your family helped your vocation? 

Since I was little, my parents carried out volunteer work at a day center for disabled people affiliated with a parish in Messina. So I grew up with this sensitivity, with attention towards the most fragile, conveyed by the example of my parents. By communicating to them my desire to embark on the path towards the priesthood, they supported and encouraged me to move forward with decision and responsibility.

You grew up in the Guanellian parish of Messina. How has the parish community supported your vocation?

First of all with the testimony of charity, communicating the example of the Founder. We meet  in a rather complex and difficult territorial context and the parish allowed me to deal with various forms of poverty, arousing in me the need for donation, to satiate the hunger for "bread and the Lord", as Don Guanella said. Then he supported me with prayer, thanks to the precious prayerful service of the "Fermento" group present in the parish.

What attracted your life towards the Don Guanella Opera, to the point of offering it to it totally? 

I discovered the concreteness of Don Guanella, that is, his way of perceiving the mystery of God in a completely intimate and personal way, and of communicating it in his action of charity, without separating prayer and service. Furthermore, I was able to admire the simplicity and familiarity of relationships in community life.