Dioceses in Italy have reported the deaths of around 50 priests as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, according to official Church sources in the country.
Avvenire, the Italian newspaper owned by the Italian bishops’ conference, attributes the majority of these priests’ deaths to Covid-19.
The publication also noted two cases where Fr Guido Mortari and Fr Giorgio Bosini died before they could be tested.
The vast majority of the priests were aged 70 and above. The oldest, Fr Mario Cavalleri, was 104 years old while the youngest, Fr Sandro Brignone, was 45 years old.
Of the deceased priests, at least 15 of them came from the Diocese of Bergamo.
“Pope Francis has promised that he will carry us in his heart and in his daily prayers,” said Bishop Francesco Beschi of Bergamo in video message to his diocese.
“The Holy Father was very affectionate, showing his paternal closeness to me, to the priests, to the sick, to those who care for them and to our whole community. He wanted to ask for details on the situation that Bergamo is experiencing, on which he was very informed.”
He added: “In particular, he asked me to bring his closeness to the sick and to all those who in different ways are doing heroically for the good of others: doctors, nurses, civil and health authorities, law enforcement.”
Bergamo, which has bec-ome the “martyr city” of the coronavirus in Italy, has so many dead that army trucks last week had to deliver supplies of freshly-made wooden coffins, with mortuaries no longer being able hold them all.
Fr Remo Rota, a 77-year-old priest who served as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo for 38 years, was among those who died in Bergamo after testing positive.
In Cremona, priest and print journalist Fr Vincenzo Rini, 75, who was head of the Federation of Catholic Weekly Newspapers was a notable casualty.
Parish
At least six priests have died in the Diocese of Parma. Among them was Fr Franco Minardi, who served the same parish for 70 years, and Fr Nicola Masi, who served as a missionary in the Amazon.
In the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, 87-year-old twin brothers Fr Mario Boselli and Fr Giovanni Boselli died within a day of each other.
Other Italian dioceses with coronavirus deaths are Milan, Lodi, Brescia, Casale Monferrato and Tortona.
Private funerals are being offered for the deceased priests, as all public religious ceremonies are banned by the Italian government.