Francesco Albertini is a young seminarian of 28 born in Rome. He is the first one in his congregation, the Missionaries of the Precious Bloodto study at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, thanks to a partial scholarship from the Centro Academico Romano Foundation. CARF is very active in helping, in addition to seminarians and diocesan priests from all over the world, religious men and women belonging to ancient and modern congregations to have a solid and adequate formation for their respective charisms.
Francesco's story is a bit like St. Augustine, isn't it?
Yes, that's right, I realize now that the Lord already knew everything and I kind of pretended to understand it, to lay the foundations of a predefined life, following the anti-risk protocol. My heart has always been full of questions: "What do you want for your life? What are you looking for?". Around these questions I managed to sew many roles that, at first glance, were perfect: the "model student", the "eccentric scholar-artist", the "entertainer who assesses all risks", the "philosopher", the "poet", the "intellectual", the "ideal child"....
But inside me was this incredible desire not to pretend to be something that didn't belong to me. God knew, He knew the need to rescue me! And maybe I knew it, too....
And do you know today?
Well, today I do hear the voice of God. Because, no matter how much I tried to shape my existence, no matter how much I sought a role, a way of being in the world, nothing could override the fact that God had spoken to my heart, had seduced it and deposited an intimate certainty in my heart: I wanted to serve my brothers, to be an elder brother, to find beauty!
Do you want to tell us how it all started?
My vocation was born in the parish, precisely in the church of San Benedetto Abate, in Pomezia, not far from Rome, within some youth groups created under the inspiration of some priests of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The first example of how a priest came to me from them. At least I wanted to be like that...
How?
Always at the side of young people, helping them in a complete and continuous formation, step by step, despite all the contradictions they may have, the weaknesses and frailties, as it was for me.
It is good that the Church, even in a country that is becoming more secularized every year, continues to play a fundamental role for young people....
Of course! And also in realities like mine, an industrial city very close to the capital of Italy. The street where the parish is located was a world full of wonderful friendships, where we lived the enthusiasm of today and dreamed of the promises of tomorrow. It was a world full of noise but where we spoke in a quieter voice as we shared the anguish, the disappointments and the failures that often came our way.
And you were telling me that it was at the age of fourteen that this journey in search of the face of Christ began for you?
Yes, in high school, an artistic school that was a kind of vocational experience because I was attracted to everything that is art, creativity, fantasy realized through experimentation. I have always metaphorically interpreted all that as the "pedagogy" that the Lord uses with me, in "working me", in "molding me" to make my life as his work of art.
But you didn't know you were looking for
No, I didn't. I felt an intimate voice growing inside me whispering something radical, a radical love. Whether that was called a vocation I didn't know yet and, honestly, I didn't even want to know too much because I was fine, I liked my life and, therefore, after high school I was already dreaming of a career as a philosopher or an artist, or both.
So you managed to "silence" this voice
Not at all, obviously. I even asked myself whether to enter the seminary, but I didn't even think about how and where, so instead of asking someone to help me to "discern" that voice I felt, I pretended to forget about it, to look for other things that seemed more real to me: affirmation, expressions of esteem, applause, etc.
Like St. Augustine: not yet; not yet....
Yes, and also the university years were rather difficult: I enrolled, as I wanted to, in the Faculty of Philosophy but the more I tried to get results and they didn't come, little by little I was losing the sense of what I was doing. My life was losing its meaning, its strength, its beauty. Every day I woke up and tried, with all my strength, to start over but it seemed that the more I tried, the more I sank. I felt like a castaway who couldn't swim.
"My life was losing its meaning, its strength, its beauty. I felt like a castaway who doesn't know how to swim."
Francesco Albertini is a young seminarian of 28. He is the first of his congregation, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, to study at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Some of his missions consist of going to the places where young people usually live and spend their time.
"That's why we go to the squares, to the schools, to the bus station, to the beach... We meet them in the squares, in the bars, in the circles, wherever they are... By the way, there is music, dances, videos, theatrical shows and activities that aim to "attract" them to the parish and to the Church in general, involving them in service and spiritual growth," he explains.
However, the Lord has not forsaken you
Thanks be to God, He not only never left my side, but He placed something precious in my heart, particularly during a summer camp, before I enrolled in the University. I experienced, during a moment of very intense prayer, a very strong love that "flooded" all the senses: something difficult to explain. Then, the joy of that precise moment, of my past, not only stayed with me as a precious memory, but consolidated even more everything I had tasted when I was younger.
This is very nice, because many times, looking at our young people, we feel very discouraged when they turn away from the faith.
But God does not turn away from them! And with me the Lord acted with his infinite benevolence, while I was confused.
What happened?
I learned that a young man from my parish, who was going through a process of vocational discernment and had decided to spend some time walking the Camino de Santiago, met some seminarians of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood along the way. After spending a long time with them, he wanted to enter the seminary to begin his formation in the Congregation.
...And you got curious
Yes, it was something that intrigued me a lot, especially because I felt I was in a very similar situation. So I decided to "take a look around", with a lot of "prudence" and shyness: I approached him, got to know the people a bit and finally crossed paths with him who would later become my director, who was then in charge of youth and vocation ministry. After meeting him several times and sharing a lot, we began to talk about my future, about a possible entry into the Congregation, but I was not entirely convinced... Well, actually, I was very afraid!
I tried to resist, I questioned everything, always trying to avoid this healthy restlessness that the Lord, in his infinite benevolence, had placed in my heart, but the Missionaries were there....
"In my congregation, we don't wait for the young people to come, we go to the places where they usually live and spend their time: the squares, the bars and the beaches."
Francesco entered the Congregation in October 2015 and since then he has experienced many adventures, joys and also suffering but "above all so much growth! Growth with God, who does not make of you what you want but what you already are."
The Missionaries of the Precious Blood carry out "missions" in parishes that request them. It consists of animating, for a week, the reality of the parish. This "mission" involves intense and constant preaching, not only by the missionaries, but also by the laity and families who share their experience of growth with the Lord.
I know that the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, a reality founded in 1815, are very committed to young people....
That's right! In fact, "missions" are a typical initiative of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood and consist in animating, for a week, the parish reality that requests this service. This "mission" involves intense and constant preaching, not only by the Missionaries, but also by lay people and families who share their experience of growth with the Lord.
And you go looking for young people wherever they are!
Of course! We don't wait for them to come, we go to the places where they usually live and spend their time. So we go to the squares, to the schools, to the bus station, to the beach... We meet them in the squares, in the bars, in the circles, wherever they are... By the way, there is music, dances, videos, theatrical shows and activities that aim to "attract them" to the parish and to the Church in general, involving them in service and spiritual growth.
And in one of these missions you fell in love with surrender to God.
Well, yes... In fact I left for Sicily and from there, from that trip, I can say that I have never returned, because I realized that what God had put in my heart was not "something else" compared to what I wanted... Moreover: after many years I discovered that success and recognition could not be an objective, because they are there for a moment but then disappear, while you do find happiness and eternal life in God, who remains forever. In other words, God presented himself to me again as a more worthy project.
There you made your decision
Yes, I continued my vocational journey and entered the Congregation in October 2015. Since then I have lived many adventures, so many joys, so much suffering, but above all so much growth! Growth with God, who does not make of you what you want but what you already are, since you know and expect that, day after day, everything passes but only He, the Lord, with His infinite mercy, remains.
And now you are the first of your Congregation to study theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
And not only am I the first, but I have the same name as the founder: Francesco Albertini, who was the spiritual father of St. Gaspar del Bufalo. The two of them founded the Congregation of the Precious Blood. Something curious and very amusing. But I always tell this to people who ask me if I am sure about my vocation. And in the end, I also tell them that if one does the will of God, one never regrets.
............
My work as CARF representative at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross allows me every day to experience the joy and life of the Church and to see that God is at work in spite of so much evil in the world, so many difficulties, so much suffering and the materialism that surrounds us. The witness that dozens of young people give us, the courage to give their lives to God and to others even in the midst of many false lights that seem to shine brighter than the light of faith, could not be explained in any other way.
Gerardo Ferrara
BA in History and Political Science, specializing in the Middle East.
Responsible for the student body
University of the Holy Cross in Rome
