MISSIO ITALIA: The docufilms for the animation of the 32nd Martyrs' Missionaries' Day

Eight videos mostly composed of stories, but also reflections and testimonies to animate and celebrate the Day of the Missionary Martyrs. This is the proposal that comes from the Missio Foundation for the 32nd edition of this Day whose theme is "A heart that burns".

In the first docufilm, A CUORE CHE ARDE (5'), Elisabetta Vitali, secretary of Missio Giovani, presents the theme of the 32nd edition, recalling that the initiative takes its cue from 24 March 1980, the day of the assassination of Monsignor Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, defender of the poor and oppressed.

The second video, MISSIONARI UCCISI NEL 2023 (4'), recalla the 20 missionaries killed in the world last year.

The third video, LA SEMENTE VIVA DI EZECHIELE RAMIN (11'), talks about the Combonian born in Padua and killed on 24 July 1985 in Cacoal, Rondonia, an Amazonian state in Brazil. Father Ezekiel defended small farmers and indigenous people struggling against the overpowering landowners who want to take their land.

The fourth video, IL CUORE ARDENTE DI LUCIANO LANZONI (15'), talks about this very significant figure of a consecrated lay missionary. He spent 30 years with the Servants of the Church in Madagascar, collaborating with the local dioceses and with those of Modena, Reggio Emilia, Carpi in the field of healthcare and beyond. 

He died in Ampasimanjeva hospital on June 18, 2021 from the consequences of Covid.

The fifth video, ANNALENA TONELLI (17 '), remembers this lay missionary figure 20 years after her death: the video recounts her life, her legacy, her missionary relevance. Annalena was killed on October 5, 2003 in Borama, Somaliland. Loved for her great work, hated by fundamentalism for which it was intolerable that a woman, a Christian, could do what Annalena did, every day: love beyond measure.

The sixth video, UN LADRO CHE SCAPPA, UNA MISSIONARIA CHE MUORE (15'), talks about Loredana Vigini, a missionary originally from Trieste. She was in Brazil with her association Semente Viva, specialized in bibliodrama, when a fleeing thief ran her over on February 1, 2023: she was walking on a pedestrian crossing. She died three days later, on February 4, leaving "a burning heart" in those who knew her.

The seventh video, GRAZIE DELL’AIUTO… MA TROVAMI UNA SOLUZIONE! (10'), talks about the dramatic situation of people in the Gaza Strip, through the testimony of Giuditta Brattini, volunteer in Gaza with the Gazzella association.

The last video, PROGETTO MAROCCO  (4'), illustrates the solidarity project proposed by Missio for the Day of the Missionary Martyrs 2024: Missio supports the Missionaries of the Consolata who in Rabat, Morocco, in the parish of St. Louis, welcome migrants crossing the border between Algeria and Morocco in a project called “Accoglienza Migranti Oujda” (A.M.O.). Young people, women and children, on their difficult migratory journey, will thus be able to find a safe space in which to stop along the way towards a more peaceful future.

Here the videos on the Missio Italia YouTube channel.

Here the videos on Vimeo where it is also possible to download them.