After 11 months at the Loppiano School for Priests, Fr Eric, aged 37, returns to Burundi in Central Africa. Here are a few glimpses into his life and his adventure in Loppiano, where he learnt, amongst other things, excellent Italian and even ‘how to cook edible meals’.
by Paolo Lòriga
It is always the details that make the difference. They reveal a mindset or reflect a way of life. And in Fr Eric Minani, a priest from Burundi, from the town of Ruyidi in the east of the country, they have had a profound impact on his life. At the age of 13, he began preparing for Baptism, having come to know God through his ten brothers and sisters. What struck him was the parish priest, Fr Elie Rutwe, “the way he sang the Preface, the way he preached, but even more so the way he welcomed people and his kindness”. “I liked the way he did things, and I looked up to him with admiration,” recalls Fr Eric. He adds: “When I walked home from the parish, 8 kilometres away, I would sing the words he sang. My sister-in-law then asked me if I wanted to become a priest and I replied: ‘Yes, straight away’”. That same priest would baptise him on 19 April 2003.
Another detail. On 19 July 2025, Fr Eric arrived in Loppiano. “I was very impressed by the welcome I received. I was surprised by the priests of ‘Vinea Mea’, who were waiting for me and welcomed me with great joy, even though none of them knew me.” He was amazed by one of the first questions he was asked. “They immediately asked me about my interests, my tastes, and what I liked doing. I felt straight away as though I were at home, amongst my family.” An excellent start. “So it was very pleasant living alongside the other priests, and the cultural differences – even the significant ones – gradually opened up my mind and heart, helping me to discover the importance of maintaining an attitude of constant openness.” He adds: “I’ve learnt so much from others, even how to cook. Now I can make things that are actually edible,” he admits, smiling. This year at the Seminary there was one seminarian (from Poland) and 17 priests (from Africa, Latin America, Korea and Europe).
In 2008, whilst at the minor seminary, he listened to a member of the Focolare Movement who was presenting the spirituality. At the end, he told her: “I want to embark on this adventure with you.” On 13 July 2019, thirty-year-old Eric was ordained a priest and in 2023 he was invited to the Priestly School in Loppiano for two weeks. There he realised he was lacking something: “I didn’t speak Italian, whereas all of Chiara’s original videos and texts were in Italian.” For others, this might have been a minor issue, as there is no shortage of translations and dubbed videos, but for Eric it was a matter of vital importance. With gentle determination, on his return to Burundi, he set about learning Italian. He followed courses on YouTube, even though he spoke French.
When he arrived in Loppiano on 19 July 2025, he began an Italian course at the La Pira Centre in Florence, then at Loppiano’s Italian language school, with remarkable results. So much so that the interview you are reading is conducted in Italian, demonstrating an excellent command of a rich vocabulary and exemplary pronunciation.
His bishop is very open to the spirituality of the new movements and communities. Eric thus continued on his path of formation with the ‘gens’, the seminarians close to the Focolare Movement. He heard many things about Chiara Lubich, but one phrase left a deep impression on him and guided him – “The Word of God leads us nowhere if it is not lived out”. It was a detail that would illuminate his inner journey. And he found confirmation in his bishop when he asked to spend a year at the seminary in Loppiano. Not only did he agree, but he told the young priest: “For the spirituality of communion, go!”.
At the end of June, Fr Eric will leave Loppiano for Rome, where he will help out in a parish. Then, at the end of July, he will return to Burundi, a country of 14 million people, situated in Central Africa just below the equator, in the picturesque Great Lakes region. A demanding priestly ministry awaits him, with many pastoral activities (“I missed them in Loppiano”), in a country with a large Catholic majority.
“I’m returning very happy after these 11 months, because it has been a very constructive experience.” He explains: “I imagined the courses would be taught by university lecturers, who would feed the mind. Instead, they were lessons that went straight to the soul. And then the way of life and the sense of family have left a deep mark on me, and I will carry this with me into all my relationships. In Loppiano, no one is a stranger.” The trip to Trento with all the schools from the little town “was very special, because I got to know the places from Chiara’s early days.” And he immediately adds: “I was deeply moved by the Gocciadoro woods. We were there, where Chiara spent that night with her family, before telling them she wouldn’t be leaving Trento with them. There, she decided to sacrifice herself for humanity.” The Gocciadoro woods. A detail, indeed.
