DON DOMENICO FRANTELLIZZI was born in Boville Ernica (Frosinone) on 20-9-1937, son of Giuseppe and Paolina Frantellizzi, essential people, simple in the rhythms of daily life: work, family, church. The father soon died, leaving his wife Paolina with the arduous task of educating the three children. In the close relationship there was a priest uncle of great example, who will leave a long mark of good in the country.
He was taken to the baptismal font of his parish church, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, a month later: on 24 October. Boville develops on the crest of a hill overlooking the small but suggestive Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, so dear to the inhabitants of the whole valley. The family runs a small bar which is a point of reference, a meeting point, communication of all kinds for all the inhabitants of Boville.Domenico grew up as a linear child: good, simple, playful, an altar boy. Normal at school. His companions still remember him today for his sweetness of character.
He received the gift of Holy Confirmation at the age of 11, conferred on him by the diocesan bishop of Veroli, Mons. Emilio Baroncelli on 31 July 1948. A sacrament that came to strengthen the good inclinations of his spirit, which at the foot of the altar day by day were assuming a certain turn of taste: the idea of becoming a priest began to flash in his mind. He spoke about it with mum Paolina. He confided it to his uncle. At 12 he applied to enter the seminary. It was probably his priest uncle who directed him to the Opera Don Guanella, as he had known it for some time and had great esteem for it. He addressed his question to the Guanellian seminary in Rome, Via Aurelia Antica. Some time later, exactly on 15 October 49, he left Boville and went down to Rome, accompanied by his mother and uncle. From that evening life began on another side. He was lodged in the cramped rooms of the "old house", while the construction of the new seminary was already announced, there in front, at a distance of 50 meters. And then immediately came the grandiose functions of the Holy Year of 1950. Throughout that year our seminarians were chosen to be altar boys in St. Peter's Basilica: the commitment occupied the entire morning. School was held in the afternoon. Study, important as it was, had to be satisfied with spare time and evenings. When the construction work actually began, the boys went to sleep on the "third floor" in the pavilion named after Pius XII, in the rooms of the "good sons". However, the sacrifice received in return the fortune of a rare experience of the Church, of prayer, of charity. Thus began, for Dominic, with this touch of liturgy and ecclesial meetings, the long journey of religious and priestly formation.
He spent three years in the minor seminary of Anzano del Parco (CO), as usually happened in that period for our seminarians from central-southern Italy. And this is how its first director, Don Luciano Botta, expressed himself about him: “Domenico Frantellizzi, 17 years old, fatherless; good natured; simple and obliging; discreet in study and in good health. Exemplary piety. He promises well!". He went to Barza to begin his novitiate on 12 September 1954. He went ahead with determination. He had established solid points, which gradually with logical connection opened the way for him. He also possessed the invaluable gift of humour, by which even difficult moments lost their hardness, were de-dramatised, and he knew how to find the right openings to continue with strength. He made his religious vows for the first time on 12 September 1956. Then year after year he renewed his consecration to God. Meanwhile he was sent to the heart of his apostolic educational work in Milan, Vellai di Feltre, Anzano del Parco, Ferentino, among Boys. In these environments of children and adolescents he revealed excellent skills as an educator and he found himself at ease, in joy. He worked with gusto, loving and making himself loved.
In September 1960 obedience wanted him in the minor seminary in Rome, both to attend to theological studies, which he attended at the University of Propaganda Fide until he obtained his licentiate; and to follow the young aspirants in their first steps of seminary training. At the end of the first year of theology he was allowed to pronounce his vows "in perpetuity", which he did during a sober Eucharistic celebration on 24 September 1961. consecrated priest, by the hands of Cardinal Larraona on March 14, 1964.
The Second Vatican Council was then in full swing: there was an atmosphere of fervor, in analogy to what he had personally experienced in the Holy Year of 50, at the beginning of his vocational journey. Furthermore, the idea of the beatification of our Founder was already taking shape. Eyes pointed towards the great things of the Church, as if waiting towards the future. This trace of the Council remained indelible in his spirituality and in his work.
Outwardly, even though he had become a priest, he seemed to "continue", rather than "begin" his apostolic service as an educator: still among the boys attending to their growth, to their problems. Same job. However, he carries it out from a different angle, revealing an ever more robust maturity, made up of intelligence, experience, even scientific acquisition regarding the tasks that were gradually entrusted to him by obedience. After completing his theology studies with the academic degree of the Licentiate at the Pontifical University of Propaganda Fide, he enrolled in the Faculty of Pedagogy with the explicit intention of giving the best to the young people among whom he saw his priesthood unfold.
In fact: in 1964 he received the position of "prefect of students" in the same minor seminary in Rome; in 70 he was called to assume the role of superior and treasurer in Ferentino, where the institute was then still full of boys; and the following year he was promoted to superior at Torriani, where in 75 he too received the office of bursar.
At this point his personality, continuously growing before the eyes of the confreres, appeared worthy of further trust also with regard to roles in the Province. In July 77 he was chosen as a member of the Council of the Roman Province, a job he carried out with commendable commitment, bringing his enthusiasm, his realistic sense of things, his qualities as a precious collaborator, so much so that in 83 he was reconfirmed in the office in the Province, as well as in 1986, when he moved on to devote himself totally to the work of the Province with the dual role of Vicar and Bursar: roles that were then subsequently renewed until the last survey in September-October 1993, when the confreres despite the fact that Don Domenico was already undermined in his health and everyone knew about it, they still wanted to call him to continue in the gift of himself to the needs of the Province. What he accepted and actually carried out scrupulously until the end, in the morning, at the crack of dawn, on March 9, 1994.
The spiritual legacy of Don Domenico Frantellizzi
1) Seriousness in work
Anyone who rang at the door of the Province with the intention of disturbing or wasting time was immediately put on the alert: “here we work seriously! We need an atmosphere of serenity”.
I too had to hear the fraternal but decisive call when I entered the Province singing, or greeting in a loud tone, or ringing the bell for a long time. But he was a man of hospitality. If he wasn't immediately busy with some professional he would accompany you for a coffee, he was available for two confidential words from which, he was an expert in this, he immediately perceived the seriousness of some situations and problems. His mission as treasurer was lived with passion and seriousness. He could be trusted: he was capable of professionally carrying out all the situations that a Province experiences in the economic field.
At Easter 1989, recalling his 25th anniversary of priesthood, he wrote this note of thanks to his friends in his own hand: "The closeness of all of you on this auspicious anniversary of my XNUMXth anniversary moved me and made me feel the Lord's support in particular way. I will try, with the Lord's help, not to disappoint your just expectations in the task entrusted to me, but above all in bearing witness to the Lord's love with my ever holier life".
2) The passion for beautiful things
VC at no. 24 contains a song by Saint Augustine in which all the beauty of the Lord Jesus is expressed, in every stage of his mission as Redeemer: “God is beautiful, the Word with God... He is beautiful in heaven, beautiful on earth; beautiful in the womb, beautiful in the arms of the parents, beautiful in miracles, beautiful in tortures; beautiful in inviting to life and beautiful in not caring about death; beautiful in leaving life and beautiful in taking it up again; beautiful on the cross, beautiful in the tomb, beautiful in heaven. Listen to the canticle with understanding, and do not let the weakness of the flesh take your eyes away from the splendor of his beauty".
Don Domenico used to spend his holidays in the mountains. He loved his nature Two years in Santa Caterina Valfulva, the last year of his life in Alagna. Wonderful walks, he enjoyed the beauty of nature, the food, the packed lunch, the snow, the woods, the streams. “It was a real pleasure to be with him” his faithful companion, Don Romano Argenta, recalls with edification. In the last year he was already suffering, swollen ankles, socks cut off to be able to put them on, but he wanted to walk, see new things, despite his fatigue. "He never made his illness weigh on him", testifies again Don Argenta.
In his studio and in his room, a truly beautiful collection of paintings, some of them even valuable, made the environment of his daily work come alive.
Classical music, then, really fascinated him. Every Saturday, after lunch, we used to take a walk together: Via della Pisana, Via San Giovanni Eudes, Via Aurelia Nuova and then Antica. Once home he retired for personal cleaning and then sitting in his armchair, in the room, he listened to classical music following it with the score in his hand. It was his free time dedicated to the spirit. He was deeply convinced of this: the contemplation of beauty can only lead to God!
3) The ability to suffer for the love of Christ
It really fell to me to live next to him in the last months of his life. He was provincial vicar and treasurer. About four months. We had been installed in our Office of animators of the Province on the day of Our Lady of Divine Providence, November 12, 1993, and Don Domenico left us on the following March 9, after almost a month in the hospital.
We visited him every day during his hospitalization and I remember that after a day spent in the General Curia with the other Provincial Councilors for a meeting with the General Council in the evening, it was now 19,30 pm, he said to Fr Marangi as we returned to Via Aurelia: we pass by Don Domenico in the hospital. It was a providential visit: we had taken a little ice cream with lemon, his passion, at a certain moment an epileptic attack would certainly have taken him away from us even sooner if we, the brothers, hadn't been in the room with him.
How much suffering in those days: cries of excruciating pain, treatments unable to eradicate his disease, dialysis in an attempt to support him, the desire for a kidney transplant which, however, did not appear immediately, therefore the certainty that death would reach him sooner. He squeezed my hand tightly to beg me to help him…but I couldn't do anything for him.
We prayed a lot together, going back to days and experiences lived together, for the love of the Lord, in vocational promotion, in the formation of the students of Via Aurelia Antica. They were memories that gratified and consoled him.
What was essential for Don Domenico? It is right to ask oneself in the face of the conclusion of a priestly existence: what was truly essential for him? The family, he who has experienced the nostalgia of an orphan deprived of a father? The satisfaction of work, all the more noble because marked from top to bottom by the value of solidarity? The joy of being in the liveliest of social battles, aware of being on the right side, on the side of the poor? Sure, all beautiful, big things, full of light. But for him the essential is much simpler: for a disciple who has met the Master with love, there is no doubt: the essential was He, the Lord, who became the whole of his life, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. So the really important needs were those of Christ and his Gospel. Here his being finds breath and life; at this breath his sails swell towards holiness!
The path of holiness of don Domenico Frantellizzi
The richness of his personality
Nice character - The dominant note, immediately perceptible, was his goodness of character. Jovial, simple. He easily possessed the streak of humor. He immediately put people at ease. His attention moved spontaneously towards the other: except that in recent times, when due to illness the theme of dialogue was necessarily directed towards his health conditions, normal discourse escaped by itself to direct itself towards the interlocutor and the friend. He shied away from putting himself at the center. He possessed the secret of bringing out the life, the qualities, the importance of the other.
Respect for people- Gently, without doing it on purpose, he appreciated all the richness of humanity present in people. In conversations with him you felt honored. His esteem sincerely surfaced in the values of your person. He believed and carefully weighed the merit of the qualities he noticed in others: it was not criticism that came to the fore, but honour; it may be that during the conversation the aspect of dissent or a certain distance of judgment also arose; his language, in fact, emerged frank, "pane al pane e vino al vino"; he was even heated in defending his views; it's not that he sold his ideas at a low price: they were the result of experience and study, calibrated by who knows how many other comparisons of thought. But never the sharp criticism, which had some echo of resentment or offense.
With this double touch, of esteem and frankness, it became easy to open one's heart deeply to deal with painful matters and problems and discomforts, which are usually kept secret. In the end, when we left him, we found ourselves like someone who has warmed himself by the fire. He left an imprint of peace: the desire to return was born. Perhaps also for this dowry of altruism he was inclined to work in a team rather than alone.
Sense of limitation - Another line, also significant and beautiful, can be found in the fact that Don Domenico, as a boy and then as a cleric and priest, did not have a great opinion of himself; he recognized his own limitations in simplicity, just as he willingly recognized that others excelled in studies, music, sport. But he did it with joy, almost playing, looking for what was the best for everyone, and that is the harmony of collaboration. Precisely for this reason he was sweet, welcoming, without barriers. He seemed to have taken as his life program the directives given to the first Christians by Saint Paul: “Do not value yourself more than it is convenient to evaluate yourself ...; do not get too lofty an idea of yourselves” (Rom 12,3.16:XNUMX).
Concreteness - An interesting component of his personality was also the note of concreteness. Although he liked the nobility of thought, this was not his favorite field of his. Where his mind ranged with assiduous research and taste was the field of facts. When programs were formed or work plans were elaborated, after having listened to the premises, the diagnoses, the principles, the objectives, etc., it seemed that we had stopped at the threshold of the problem; the substance was beyond. Yes, they were important and he followed them with taste the beautiful things that they recalled. But they were a preparatory phase. His point of perspective was waiting. Therefore, when the turn of the word reached him, the discussion took another turn: what in his eyes constituted the central node came to the fore: the "how to do it", the methodologies of action. The values are quite easy to state: who doesn't see them?! the difficulty comes from translating them into life. Here it is necessary to know how to find the right ways, both to make them attractive and to achieve them. He was concerned with the "strategies", with the paths to follow. He brought problems to the heart. In preparing the assemblies, the retreats, the days of updating ..., he immediately and concretely imagined the confreres gathered: how to interest them, how to enthuse them?
Loyalty- A particular aspect of this practical sense of his was a marked ability to manage the economy. He had manifested this trait even as a cleric, when he carried out the small purchases for the boys with enchanting skill, in relation to school and games. Subsequently, charged with managing the economies of houses, schools, institutes and entrusted with the administration of the Roman Province together with him, he found himself deeply involved in this sector. He felt involved in his conscience. He tried to bring all his resources to it, taking care to harmonize especially three dimensions that appeared to him necessary in relation to the economy: the spirituality that must animate administrative norms from within and instill meaning in them; technical, legal professionalism, made up of justice and shrewdness; the purpose of service to the poor, which must be evident, capital. This cut of immediate connection with life and with the poor was then further ennobled by the character of fidelity. The evangelical passage of the "good and faithful servant" can be applied to him completely and calmly. Never, even remotely, the shadow of making personal profit from the role he played. Transparency was absolute. He felt like nothing more than administrator of the goods entrusted by Providence for the poor. His spirit of fidelity was measured by faith and a sense of mission: responsible before God and before the poor; a fact first of all of conscience, therefore.
Friendship - He had the art of it. The presence of the crowd of people who filled the church on the day of his funeral was clear proof of this. He knew how to listen. Even those who came to his office for business reasons were sure of having a free space dedicated to human relations: they ranged from "Lazio" to the tormenting problems of the family, health and children. One could confide in him. In these matters of the soul, then, he had a very strong memory, capable of remembering the discourse left some time ago and of taking it up again on the fly. He called by name. The "you" arose spontaneously, intensely familiar.
I often saw people who came to see him just to meet him, and not specifically for business purposes. He preferred to call by phone rather than correspond by letter. But when by chance he happened to find himself in a place that could offer him the inspiration of a memory, he bought the postcards in packs and quickly characterized them with joking greetings, making it clear that "I thought of you", "you are dear to me". How many times a simple "hello!" it can change a whole dark world into serenity.
I know that for years he has been faithful in following the fortunes of his fellow students. He had made himself a sort of mailing list for past pupils. Many of these had grown up as students, entered the world of work, and got married. On the most significant anniversaries, he never failed to send a thought, a greeting. Little things, but they were signs of a way of life. Along the thread of friendship, then, passed values and sharing and the Gospel: the source of everything, in fact, was understood to be in his priestly heart.