Rome (Italy). On 17 April 2022, Easter Sunday, the Lord of Life introduced our dearest Sr. Lorenzina Colosi, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians of the Province of St. John Bosco (IRO) to an Easter that will never end.
Born in Vitorchiano (VT) on 18 October 1928, Sr. Lorenzina makes her First Profession in the FMA Institute on 5 August 1947. She lives in full donation to young people, in particular in the precious service of catechesis. In 1958, she began her service as a collaborator of the Catechetical Office in Rome and ended it after having been its Director from 2002 to 2008.
The life of Sr. Lorenzina can be defined as a long adventure at the service of the proclamation of Jesus to the poorest young people, in the style of the Preventive System of St. John Bosco. Courageous and passionate, from when she was a young Sister, she made catechesis her main mission. In Jesus Nazarene Community of Via Dalmazia, where she was a teacher of science and religion in the School, she also took care of the “girls of the Vicolo della Fontana”, who had fewer possibilities and resources, and to whom she dedicated time and energy so that by discovering the love of Christ, they could find the strength to redeem their existence.
Among the numerous tasks entrusted to her, one cannot fail to mention the formation initiative for catechists among the students of the Via Dalmazia Institute. On the outskirts of the city of Rome, Sr. Lorenzina and other FMA, with many ‘young people for young people’, reached those who perhaps, would never have gone to the parish to learn catechism.
Sr. Lorenzina promoted not only catechetical formation, but also theological and pastoral formation. It was not enough for young people to ‘know’ notions and information, they needed to experience them and encounter Jesus in depth.
Her ecclesial commitment was tireless and appreciated: a competent, humble, tenacious and passionate service, which brought her into contact with Popes and Bishops and confronted her with situations that were not always easy. She loved the Church and wanted the Institute and each FMA to live their own vocation and mission with an ecclesial and missionary breath. For this reason, the last part of her commitment in the Diocese of Rome was dedicated to the Service for the Catechumenate and the initiation of adults, including immigrants.
Sr. Lorenzina also collaborated with the Union of Major Superiors of Italy (USMI) in organizing and conducting courses for catechists. She studied every document of the Church on catechesis, then committing herself to transmit the contents down to the last. She gave lessons to the novices until a few months before her death.
She did not like to speak about herself, unless she saw a higher purpose: encouragement, exhortation, an invitation to experiment in new horizons. She read everything that came to her from the FMA Institute with a clear, critical mind, ready to express her opinion in an open and frank way. A woman of great culture, she was sorry to see the lack of solidity in the preparation of those who should have proclaimed Jesus.
In learning the news of her departure for Heaven, there were various expressions of gratitude. A young FMA writes:
“You leave us the example of a full life because it was stripped of the superfluous and full of the Essential. True lover of the Institute, a whole Salesian, you made prayer your concrete life. With simple language, you reached a multitude of young people, for each of whom you sought only one thing: that their hearts be reached by the love of Jesus”.
“Sr. Lorenzina has been a precious gift for the Church of Rome for years, at the service of catechesis for the Diocese. I remember that as a young catechist, my parish priest sent me to speak with her to renew catechesis in our community. She welcomed me into her office in the Vicariate. She devoted a lot of time to me and, above all, she gave me a lot of advice. She was always attentive, helpful, and smiling. From that meeting, a beautiful collaboration was born that lasted for some years. Sr. Lorenzina had a profound knowledge of catechesis, not only theoretical, but how to implement it in practice. She deeply loved Don Bosco and the young”, says a catechist of her, Professor at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome.
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, and the Episcopal Council of the Diocese, join the FMA Institute in gratitude for the gift of Sr. Lorenzina’s life and for her precious service at the Catechetical Office and Service for the Catechumenate of the Vicariate of Rome. He ensures prayers of suffrage so that the Lord may grant her the reward of eternal life.
Her funeral will be celebrated on 19 April 2022 at 10:00 in the Basilica of St John in Lateran in Rome. His Eminence Cardinal Vicar Angelo De Donatis will preside over the function.
Sono grata al Signore per aver avuto sr. Lorenzina come preziosa insegnante a via Dalmazia e come guida nella catechesi da Lei appresa e messa in pratica nella periferia di Roma. Ha accompagnato la mia famiglia in ogni momento di vita, gioioso e doloroso con le sue parole di profonda fede e di delicata comprensione umana. Donna di grande cultura e sapienza non faceva sfoggio di queste doti, ma piuttosto cercava di far crescere in conoscenza e saggezza chi la incontrava. Rimarrà nel mio cuore un dolce ricordo del suo sorriso e della sua voce argentina.