He was born in Bari in 1928, the youngest of six children in the family of de Nicolò Lattanzi. Fr Javier was ordained priest on 28 October 1958. He spent his life planning and implementing projects for the establishment of schools in the poorest neighbourhoods of Bucaramanga.
His strategies to give dignity to the lives of so many children involved food, theatre, music, games, walking, sport, respect for people and creating an atmosphere of freedom and joy. One conviction always accompanied him - that children and young people should always have the right to be happy.
These were the principles which guided his priestly life in the service of those "who have nothing and need everything." With generous dedication and hard work he set out to be the friend of the "gamines"- the street children. His educational experience is contained in two important publications: “Musarañas” (1981), and "El niño de la calle. ¿Qué Hacer?" (2011).
He took many children and young people off the streets and away from the trap of drug abuse and the claws of the criminal world. As a faithful disciple of Jesus and Don Bosco, Fr de Nicolò gave his life for his little street friends.
How many thousands of children benefited? He himself had lost count, and perhaps even the statistics will never tell. But in the minds and feelings of these children and young people of yesterday and today who benefited from the wealth of his great heart, this feeling is indelible: "Thanks, Fr Javier – you changed our lives."
