Father Oreste Benzi
A tireless apostle of charity for the helpless and the least
Father Oreste Benzi was born on 7th September 1925 in San Clemente, a small village in the hills near Rimini. He was the seventh of nine children of a poor family of workers. He decided to become a priest when he was seven years old and entered the seminary in Rimini when he was twelve. On 29th June 1949 he was ordained a priest by Monsignor Luigi Santa, the then bishop of Rimini. From then on he became committed to helping young people meet Jesus in a good and positive way.
In 1950 he started teaching at the seminary in Rimini, where, from 1953, he was also a spiritual director. Whilst continuing this work, he also started teaching religion in different local high schools in Rimini and Riccione. In 1969 he was appointed parish priest at 'Grotta Rossa' on the outskirts of Rimini. In order to be fully committed to this new assignment he resigned from all his other commitments. He maintained this role until the year 2000.
As a result of meetings with marginalised and isolated people, and thanks to the availability of a group of young people, on 3rd July 1973 he opened the first family home of the Community of Pope John XXIII in Coriano, near Rimini.
He was the founder of the Community of Pope John XXIII and was its president until the day he went back to the Father, on 2nd November 2007.
Biography
An overview of Father Oreste's life, from his childhood to his commitment to youth, leading to the foundation of the Community of Pope John XXIII.
In memory of Father Oreste
A collection of testimonies and photographs taken on the day of Father Oreste's funeral. You will also find the prophetic comment to the first reading of the day which he had previously written in the bimonthly ‘Daily Bread’, without knowing that the day for which he wrote it would be the day of his meeting with the Father.
‘When I close my eyes to this world, the people around me will say, “He is dead”. This is a lie. [...]’
Testimonies and photographs (available in Italian)
Bibliography
Father Oreste was a tireless writer. He used to write in his car, on the train or on the plane, particularly during the night. Even though he was not a young man, he learnt how to use modern technology such as the internet and e-mails. In this way he could make best use of his time, particularly when he was travelling.
He was a regular contributor to the 'Corriere Cesenate' and 'Corriere Romagna' newspapers, and wrote a large number of books. He was the editor of 'Sempre' magazine and wrote the comments to the readings of the day in the 'Daily Bread' bimonthly publication.
Bibliography (available in Italian)
'Do you love Jesus?'
A documentary about Father Oreste's life (with English subtitles)
When Father Oreste goes to meet the girls who are enslaved into prostitution, the first thing that he asks is, 'Do you love Jesus?' Father Oreste takes the viewer into his life and spirituality. Through six months of shooting, in various countries, and sometimes in precarious conditions, we go back over his memories and meditations.
Through the voice and sunny smile of this modern prophet, we can learn about the main stages of his life, from his childhood into his eighties. In the background we see the constant presence of the Community of Pope John XXIII.
To know more about this documentary: info@apg23.org
Information pursuant to art. 13 of law decree no. 196/2003
Your personal data will be handled, manually and electronically, by the Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII – data controller – via Mameli 1, 47900 Rimini (RN) in order to reply to your request. The employees in charge of the treatment of personal data are the employees in the single offices in charge of the advanced request and of the computer systems. According to art. 7 of law decree no. 196/2003 you can exert your rights, such as consulting, modifying, deleting data or opposing to their treatment for legitimate reasons, writing to the owner of the address mentioned above or sending an email to privacy@apg23.org, where you can find, upon request, an updated list of people in charge of the treatment.