Having arrived in Loppiano ten years ago to help set up the Centre for Formation and Accompaniment, he was ordained a priest by the Rt Rev Stefano Manetti, Bishop of Fiesole, following an unusual journey of discernment. Aged 67, originally from Brescia and a qualified electrical engineer, Osvaldo has been a member of the Focolare Movement for 40 years.
by Paolo Lòriga
Piera, the sister of the newly ordained priest Osvaldo, has no doubts: “It was more emotional today than yesterday’s ordination.” On Sunday 21 June, her brother had just finished presiding over his first Mass and she, the eldest of four children, had been on tenterhooks throughout the celebration. It was not like the day before, when the ordination rite was confidently led by Bishop Stefano Manetti of Fiesole. Along with Piera, the emotion was shared by her cousin, her sister-in-law, several nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews, including 12-year-old Cristian, who had travelled from Brescia. Osvaldo Orlandi (known to everyone as Billy from the Focolare Movement) has been ordained a priest and the community in Loppiano – where he arrived in 2016 – has accompanied him every step of the way on his journey of preparation and response to this vocation.
The procession marking the start of the Mass of Consecration began outside the Theotokos church, with its great doors thrown wide open. Six seminarians passed through it to perform the various parts of the rite, along with the bishop and 26 priests – including Roberto Almada, co-president of the Movement, and Jesús Móran, who served as co-president until last March – and the candidate for the priesthood, whilst Gen Rosso sang the entrance hymn. ‘This evening the Lord has called us through the presence of Osvaldo, whose life is the result of the Word he has welcomed,’ the bishop began in his homily. He then retraced the journey of the future priest, from the time he first encountered the Focolare Movement at the age of fifteen, ‘with a gradual acceptance of the Word until, at the age of 25, he chose to consecrate himself to God within the Movement’. And here a comment: “Here we understand the gift of these ecclesial movements, with these consecrated laypeople”.
Bishop Manetti also recalled Osvaldo’s hesitation when, during the Jubilee of 2000, he was asked if he had ever thought of becoming a priest. Then came the advice to study theology – he himself an electrical engineering technician. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University, followed by a Licentiate in Spiritual Theology, after completing a diploma in Spiritual Counselling and going on to the training course for spiritual directors at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The bishop emphasised one particular point: that he had come to Loppiano in 2016 to help establish the fledgling Centre for Formation and Personal and Community Accompaniment. “A very wise decision by the Focolare Movement,” he added.
Any doubts seem to have been dispelled. “By accompanying people,” the celebrant highlighted, “and carrying out this service as a layperson, my vocation has become clearer”. “Are you willing to become a priest?” the question came knocking once more. The bishop’s account continued. Osvaldo replied: “But why me, of all people? There are others who are much better.” Bishop Manetti explained the Lord’s logic: “Yes, God chooses the ‘worst’. Look at me.” He then elaborated on this logic: “The Lord is rich in mercy and sustains us so that we may become distributors of grace.” The conversation—or homily—with the candidate for the priesthood drew to a close: “Dear Osvaldo, your vocation to the priesthood is genuine” and, drawing on the Gospel reading, he outlined the task that lay ahead: “The Lord’s command calls us to proclaim the Gospel, and what the Church is rediscovering today is the missionary dimension.” Don Osvaldo Orlandi, known as Billy, aged 67, incardinated in the Diocese of Fiesole, remains in the service of the Focolare Movement by the decision of Bishop Manetti, who has appointed him assistant parish priest at San Vito, the parish in Loppiano. In his words of thanks at the end of his first Mass, the newly ordained priest recalled his favourite image of Jesus, that of the washing of the feet: “You too must wash one another’s feet.” Billy wishes to make these words his own: “These words are not merely a command for me, but also the way of life I wish to embrace and which I hope will increasingly shape every moment of my life.”
Photo gallery: the priestly ordination ceremony
