Afternoon of great emotions and deep meditation thanks to Father Mario Pacifici and the Alleluya Band who brought their testimonies welcomed by the municipal administration of the city of Spello.
Malawi, a small state in sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the smallest, overcrowded and poorest nations in the world. These few details are enough to immediately frame what difficulty the Malawian people may encounter in fighting for the mirage of a dignified life.
Father Mario Pacifici, a Montfortian missionary father born in Bergamo but, now, a Malawian in all respects, after forty years spent in the African country with his association Andiamo Trust at the service of the most needy population, with his simple and direct story, he immediately leads to listeners a harsh reality, yes, but not without hope, and with joy he introduces the two members of the more substantial Alleluya Band who came to Spello as a living testimony of how love and joy in opening up to others can also make possible miracles.
Gertrude and Coss told their story, the hard life of those born in a Malawian village, often without a father, with many difficulties and without the possibility of self-determination, especially for women, victims and at the same time pillars of families where, very often, the male figure is totally absent.
Stories of exclusion, deprivation, coercion, absolute poverty, but, fortunately, with a beautiful happy ending thanks to the work of Father Mario, and thanks to the music that saves, unites, opens hearts and prepares them to welcome the others and (no other term may be more appropriate) harmony.
The story of the two young people is not animated by anger, by resentment for what has been suffered but by JOY, another key word, joy that predisposes us to receive the gifts in store for us that, often, anesthetized by dissatisfaction and self-pity, we are not able to see.
The performance of the Alleluya Band, which will be around Italy next year, began with a symbolic and touching song: “Dolce sentire”, inspired by St. Francis’ “Cantico delle creature”, proposed in a new version in the Chichewa language, and then continued with “Io vagabondo” and “Così celeste” by Zucchero, myth of the Italian song with which the band also performed, as well as having sung, among others, in front of St. John Paul II.
The meeting in Spello, which was attended by the municipal administration in the person of the Mayor Moreno Landrini and the councilor for social policies Rosanna Zaroli as well as the Pro Loco, was possible thanks to the commitment of Ilenia Mischianti of the Orizzonte Malawi Onlus Association.
See you next year with the notes of life, love and joy of the Alleluya Band and let’s make ourselves a gift: let’s open up to others, allow ourselves to grow and enrich our souls thanks to the encounter with others, we welcome everyone with a smile and we will be able to live a thousand experiences through others and be happy with every encounter.
Benedetta Tintillini
