Bologna Enzo Piccinini (1951-1999) Ineffable Nearness to the Mystery On May 26th, thousands of people filled Bologna Cathedral, where Archbishop Caffarra celebrated Mass for Enzo Piccinini, on the fifth anniversary of his death by Gianni Varani The Cathedral was filled in every corner, with thousands of people, more than at many political rallies: young and old, politicians, priests, colleagues, and friends from Milan and from many other cities. This was the backdrop, not unexpected, for the Mass celebrated by Carlo Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, May 26th. There was an important personal reason, both for the Archbishop and for the thousands of people present. Just five years ago, on May 26, 1999, Enzo Piccinini crashed in his car on the highway near Fidenza. There were many priests concelebrating with the Archbishop, Auxiliary Bishop Ernesto Vecchi, Fr Pino and many others. The Archbishop, a personal friend of Enzo, spoke of truth, and of who is a disciple of truth. “Truth is not the outcome of research, no matter how noble,” he said in the homily. This truth is Christ, this is the “dwelling” of the disciple. Without saying so directly, Caffarra traced a connection between human sense, between the vital meaning of Christian mission, and Enzo. Truth, revelation of Christ, belonging to the Father and to communion, an “ineffable nearness to the Mystery,” mission and gift. Caffarra went on, “Consecrate them in the truth, the Lord prayed: within the revelation of Christ man finds once again his foundation in the filial relationship with the Father. Jesus places the disciple’s mission in the world in this context. That is to say, He puts consecration in the truth and mission in the world in relationship, just as previously he had traced a link between the unity of His disciples and the conversion of the world to the Christian faith. Why does this relationship exist? Because consecration in the truth is the basic condition, the presupposition for mission in the world. The disciple is sent to testify to that transformation of the human condition of which he has been made the object. While we raise our prayer of suffrage and make memory of our brother Enzo, may this word of God lighten up our way, so that we don’t forget his witness. In the first reading, the Apostle Paul describes to us how the testimony of a disciple must be. May Enzo repay our prayer of suffrage by obtaining for us the joy of giving–of giving what, in Christ and from Christ, we have received.” At the end, the rite dissolved into a thousand groups of people gathered from all over Italy. Outside, via Indipendenza was blocked by the crowd slowly leaving San Pietro, with police directing the traffic, many drivers unaware of why there were so many people. There were some who thought there was a political rally, but it was something more: the story of Enzo that goes on. Milan, May 26, 2004 I can say what was the finest thing about the figure of Enzo Piccinini. Once he discovered the value of Christian faith and hope, he made of their contents the new wisdom for his own life and the life of his wife, with the courage to illumine its essence of truth that enlivened even dialectical and political motivations. Enzo’s sacrifice and mine have, in God’s hands, the great value of our conversion to an ever-more conscious fidelity in witnessing to Christ. Luigi Giussani