The Provincial of the Salesians of Lombardy and Emilia (ILE), Fr. Giuliano Giacomazzi, welcomed everyone present: Msgr. Pierantonio Tremolada, bishop of Brescia, who from the beginning has followed and supported Fr. Galli's Cause with keen interest; the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernandez Artime, Don Bosco's 10th Successor, whose presence expressed the gratitude and love of the entire Congregation toward Fr. Galli and his testimony as a Salesian priest; the Christian and civil community of Chiari; Fr. Galli's relatives; and all those who made this event possible through their dedication and expertise: the volunteers of the "Auxilium" center, founded by Fr. Galli himself; the members of the Diocesan Tribunal; the theological censors; the members of the Historical Commission; the Postulator General for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, and his collaborators, Drs. Lodovica Zanet and Matteo Penati.
June 12 indeed marked the 10th anniversary of Fr. Galli's birth into heaven, but his life did not end on June 12, 2012: the many graces reported and the people who go to pray at his tomb say that his story continues and that his reputation for holiness and signs deepens over time.
In his homily, Msgr. Tremolada, drawing inspiration from St. Paul's letter to the Romans proclaimed in the liturgy of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, highlighted how Fr. Galli was a witness of hope who, filled with God's love, knew how to give consolation and reasons for a new start to so many people who, wounded in soul and body, turned to him.
In his remarks at the end of the celebration, the Rector Major read the text of a letter written by Fr. Galli to Br. Carlo Barzaghi, a fellow coadjutor in 1976, a "precious pearl," as he called it, summarizing Fr. Galli's life and testimony and representing "a true spiritual legacy." Among other things Fr. Galli wrote: "I must thank you for the help you gave me last year. The steps you took to go to the depot to pick up the poor people's stuff, the steps you took to bring refreshments to Prof. Grammatica, the steps you took for the poor people, Jesus counted them all for you, because He considers done to Him what we do for the marginalized brother. And try to cultivate a passion and devotion for the poor. It is not for us to judge whether they deserve it or not; we know that Jesus became Samaritan of all, and bent over our wounds. 'As I have done, do ye also,' he told us. And ... 'I was hungry, and you did not ..., I was thirsty, and you did not ... I was a stranger ... and you did not ...'. May that condemnation never be of us, dear Charles. And continue to be what you have shown yourself to be: first the poor, then us. The best dish of soup, to the poor, and then to us; first serve the poor, and then us; for we come after the poor: and first there is to serve Him, if Jesus is in Him. Let the poor have the feeling of being expected, well-received, loved... He is Jesus." The whole event was accompanied by the “Coro Piccola Accademia San Bernardino” Choir, directed by Maestro Maurizio Ramera.
If with the closing of the Diocesan Inquiry the epicenter of the Cause shifts from the Diocese of Brescia to Rome, this does not mean, however, that Fr. Silvio "leaves" Chiari: it remains the living place where to continue to "frequent" him; where to bring closer to him so many people who still do not know him; where to take on that dynamism of prayer and charity that he still teaches to each one today.
The places where Fr. Silvio Galli lived and loved, the living bonds he weaved, remain the precious treasure to know him and make him known, to love him and make him loved, to walk by his example, and to feel him and know him close.
