austraLasia #3005
Fr Tassinari laid to rest
BEPPU: 31 January 2012 -- Funeral vigils in Japan are a wonderful example of inculturation. They tend to be solemn celebrations of the Word enriched by speeches, eulogies, offerings of flowers and incense. Attendance is usually large, since evening time allows people to come after work. The Buddhist tradition for these events is very formal and somewhat fatalistic, but the ones celebrated in the church are more familiar and the sadness of the moment is lightened by the hope of eternal joy and the resurrection. Many of those who come are not Christians and this is why the funeral vigil is regarded as a strong occasion in Japan for missionary activity.
Saturday 29 January, at the Parish Church in Beppu we held the vigil for Fr Clodoveo Tassinari, patriarch of this Province, who died just a few weeks short of his 100th birthday. He died on 27 January, a day commemorating his 82nd anniversary of his arrival in Japan.
Bishop Hamaguchi Sueo, bishop of Oita, presided, surrounded by some 200 people most of whom were members of the Salesian Family. In his eulogy, Fr Aldo Cipriani, provincial, recalled the great figure this Salesian was, emphasising his constant concern for missionary activity.
On the following day, 30 January, Bishop Emeritus Mizobe Osamu sdb presided at the funeral itself, assisted by Bishop Hamaguchi Sueo and some 40 priests. In his homily, Bishop Mizobe spoke of the interest the deceased had shown in historical research into Christianity in Japan, and of his optimism and the attachment he had always cultivated for this country.
After a moving and heartfelt eulogy by Fr Murakami Kosuke, Fr Aldo Cipriani gave the final farewell, quoting Fr Tassinari's spiritual testament. Here are some of the more notable lines from that: “I entrust my soul to God's infinite mercy and my body to brother fire to consume it as a sacrifice of expiation. I want a simple funeral, that of a poor man, with panegyric, and with but a brief homily at Mass for the edification of those present”.
Fr Tassinari's body was entrusted to “brother fire” at 2:30 that day, but the homily was not 'brief'” and there was more than one panegyric, as someone of the calibre of Fr Clodoveo Tassinari deserved. After all, he was successor to Don Cimatti as Provincial in Japan and left us the wonderful example of a missionary who gave everything for the kingdom of God.
Fr Tassinari laid to rest
by Fr Achille Loro Piana
BEPPU: 31 January 2012 -- Funeral vigils in Japan are a wonderful example of inculturation. They tend to be solemn celebrations of the Word enriched by speeches, eulogies, offerings of flowers and incense. Attendance is usually large, since evening time allows people to come after work. The Buddhist tradition for these events is very formal and somewhat fatalistic, but the ones celebrated in the church are more familiar and the sadness of the moment is lightened by the hope of eternal joy and the resurrection. Many of those who come are not Christians and this is why the funeral vigil is regarded as a strong occasion in Japan for missionary activity.
Saturday 29 January, at the Parish Church in Beppu we held the vigil for Fr Clodoveo Tassinari, patriarch of this Province, who died just a few weeks short of his 100th birthday. He died on 27 January, a day commemorating his 82nd anniversary of his arrival in Japan.
Bishop Hamaguchi Sueo, bishop of Oita, presided, surrounded by some 200 people most of whom were members of the Salesian Family. In his eulogy, Fr Aldo Cipriani, provincial, recalled the great figure this Salesian was, emphasising his constant concern for missionary activity.
On the following day, 30 January, Bishop Emeritus Mizobe Osamu sdb presided at the funeral itself, assisted by Bishop Hamaguchi Sueo and some 40 priests. In his homily, Bishop Mizobe spoke of the interest the deceased had shown in historical research into Christianity in Japan, and of his optimism and the attachment he had always cultivated for this country.
After a moving and heartfelt eulogy by Fr Murakami Kosuke, Fr Aldo Cipriani gave the final farewell, quoting Fr Tassinari's spiritual testament. Here are some of the more notable lines from that: “I entrust my soul to God's infinite mercy and my body to brother fire to consume it as a sacrifice of expiation. I want a simple funeral, that of a poor man, with panegyric, and with but a brief homily at Mass for the edification of those present”.
Fr Tassinari's body was entrusted to “brother fire” at 2:30 that day, but the homily was not 'brief'” and there was more than one panegyric, as someone of the calibre of Fr Clodoveo Tassinari deserved. After all, he was successor to Don Cimatti as Provincial in Japan and left us the wonderful example of a missionary who gave everything for the kingdom of God.
