VATICAN - Archbishop Zago, will of God and Mission

Vatican City (Fides) – “Mission was everything for Archbishop Zago. During the period in which he talked a lot about the essence of the mission and the identity of the missionary, the Mission for him, mission with a capital m, was the only thing he sought in life. It meant cooperation with the salvific plan of Jesus Christ, indeed, it was a continuation of the redemptive mission of Christ himself, just as the Saviour outlined and desired.” These are the words spoken by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, during the Mass he presided over on the afternoon of 10 March in the chapel at the Pontifical Urban College, ten years after the death of Archbishop Marcello Zago, Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples from 1998 to 2001 (see Fides 9/03/2011).
Cardinal Tomko recalled the moment in which he presented Archbishop Zago, elected Secretary of the Missionary Congregation, to the religious and lay staff: “The new Secretary expressed his complete availability to follow only the will of God and to fully serve the mission in his short answer to Prefect's greeting when he more or less said: 'In my life I have never asked for anything, if not the mission, and I never refused anything'. Three years later when we opened his will, we found the same sentence. Clearly, this was a spiritual maxim which guided him throughout his life. God's will and mission.”
Archbishop Zago began his work at the Congregation with much zeal, “addressing the diverse issues that arose, among them, doctrinal, academic, organisational, administrative and diocesan, appointments of Bishops and others, animation, not to mention interdicasterial reports, conferences and articles, interviews and promotional activities, tiring travel and pastoral commitments that required much preparation, the folders that grew in the meantime in the office and created new work on his return.”
“The secret of his whole personality and fruitful activities,” the Cardinal concluded in his homily, “he revealed himself in his will: 'For me there are three important things: Jesus Christ, the Church, the mission'. Today, we are sure that he is making true the promise he made in his will: 'I commend the institution (Propaganda Fide) and each of you to the Lord. I also hope to continue to be among the intercessors of missionary work in the world'.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 14/03/2011)