Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Taipei (Agenzia Fides) - “Abba” (Father) is the favorite word the faithful of Taiwan use - especially the children - in referring to their beloved Fr. Angelo Giovanni Pastro, an Italian Camillian Missionary, who died on September 16, at 95 years of age. One month after his passing, the local community has not forgotten him, because he was an affectionate father to them all, who loved to sing and was fun-loving like a child. He had dedicated half a century to serving the sick in both the China mainland and later in Taiwan. His funeral was presided by Archbishop John Hung Shan Chuan, SVD of Taipei, on September 21. Fr. Angelo was one of the first five Camillians who founded the mission in Asia and specifically, in China, helping the Congregation to spread to 8 countries and Asian regions. The missionary was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Guang Yu, as he chose to remain with his faithful to the very end.
Missionary of the lepers, the bricklayers, father to the schoolchildren, a doctor for those who came to visit him in his humble and remote abode on the island, Hospital Director, Hospital Chaplain, pastor to the indigenous peoples...the list of Fr. Angelo's various pastoral ministries is very long, but what characterized him was that in everything he did, he left a sign of the faith, of love, of the mission. Fr. Giuseppe Didone, Provincial Superior of the Camillians, remembers him as “a witness to the Beatitudes,” a brilliant figure in this Year for Priests.
Born in December 22, 1914 in Italy, he entered the Camillian Seminary at age 18, and ordained at age 26. Along with four of his religious brothers, he left for the mission in the Far East on April 1, 1946, landing in the Province of Yun Nan, on the China mainland. They began working in the Center for Lepers, as well as making home visits. In 1952, they moved to Taiwan and began their mission with the “Clinic of Mary” that today is the Hospital of Hui Min. Due to the extreme local poverty, the missionaries built structures for dikes, roads, the harbor...With funds sent from their brothers, they bought medicine and helped improve the lifestyle of the people, most of whom were indigenous. In 1952, Fr. Angelo became Director of the Hospital of Luo Dong, where he worked until 1998, retiring at age 84. In the meantime, he had been Pastor of several parishes, offered his service in the schools, and become a “dad” to all the children. His half a century of complete dedication to the Chinese, especially the poorest among them, even moved the civil authorities, who granted him permanent residence in 2003. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2009)
