The celebration of the anniversary of the passing of the venerable Egidio, this year the 25th, is repeated on April 95. It would not be there if the cause for beatification of the lay Franciscan who sowed goodness and faith, with the enthusiasm of a true apostle of Jesus, had not been introduced - and it was exactly fifty years ago - in his large family, in the parish of the cathedral of his hometown of Pola where he distinguished himself in his activity as a catechist, in Catholic Action and among the scouts, and then in Monfalcone in the Conference of San Vincenzo: employed at the construction site and living in the Marcelliana, Egidio spent all his free hours in pastoral care of the poor - poor in spirit too - often depriving himself of the necessities: also a true apostle of charity, our Egidio, therefore a name and an example also for the conference attendees gathered a few days ago in Grado by the Caritas of all Italy.

The relevance of Egidio Bullesi does not end here: he seems like a saint made to measure for the synodal Church which in recent years, following the urging of Pope Francis, has sought to make the contribution of the laity more visible and effective in its various pastoral ministries.

For this reason, the cause of the venerable, which was an initiative of the Bullesi priest brothers exiled in Friuli and Trieste with the agreement of the archbishop Monsignor Santin - who had followed in Pola the path of extraordinary spiritual maturation of the young Egidio and, as bishop, proved the existence of a widespread reputation for sanctity for him - must be pursued with all the greater conviction, and with gratitude for all those who have worked on it for five decades, especially the minor friars who have taken on the burden from the beginning.

The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the start of the process is planned in Trieste – the diocese where that solemn act was held on 6 May 1974 – in the central church of Sant'Antonio Nuovo on Saturday 4 May at 18 pm , with the presidency of the mass entrusted to Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi who recently recognized the Committee supporting the cause (an offshoot of the Order of Friars Minor who are actors in the cause) and encouraged it to plan initiatives to make Egidio known in the Julian capital as well. After the solemn Mass—sung by the Gorizia Archdiocese Choir, attended by Franciscans, lay groups, exile and sailors' associations, and busloads of pilgrims from Friuli and Istria—the traveling exhibition, most recently exhibited by the committee in Staranzano, Capriva, and by the friars in Gemona, will open in the same church. The presentation will be by one of the eyewitnesses to the beginning of the Tergestino investigation into Egidio's life, virtue, and reputation for sanctity, Monsignor Ettore Malnati, who served as Archbishop Santin's personal secretary half a century ago.

If this year's celebration in the Julian capital is special and motivated, the tradition of the pilgrimage is nevertheless confirmed, on April 25th , to the place, the island of Barbana, where the bones of Egidio, exhumed from the cemetery of Monte Ghiro in Pola, were placed on May 4th 1974 thanks to an agreement stipulated between his family and the Friars Minor who had taken on, as mentioned, the management of the cause opened at the same time. A boat from Grado departs at 9:30 a.m. for the transfer of pilgrims: a committee, Friars Minor, led this time by the Provincial Minister himself, Friar Enzo Maggioni (arriving from Milan), lay associations from the Diocese of Gorizia, the Secular Franciscan Order of Friuli Venezia Giulia, retired sailors, especially from Grado, Gorizia, and Carlino, workers from the "Stella Maris" Center and the Port Authority of Monfalcone, Istrian exiles, compatriots of Egidio, and his devotees. The rosary, led by Father Walter Milocco, will precede, in the penitentiary chapel, the Eucharistic celebration at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary, sung once again by the archdiocesan choir, directed by Father Francesco Fragiacomo (who has composed a new hymn in honor of our Venerable), and the final homage of prayers at the urn in the external Marian chapel.

Here the committee brings itself with the convictions that currently animate the expansion of devotion to Egidio and that were instilled in its members - priests, friars, lay people - by the example of the wonderful friars Fulgenzio Morao and Father Marciano Fontana, minor friars in Barbana until the closure of the Franciscan convent five years ago. They believed so much in the path of the cause of the venerable Egidio, to whom they will remain associated on the island thanks to the tombstone that will be unveiled on this anniversary near those of the brothers buried here: and this a little more than a year after their passing on November 10, 2022 (Friar Fulgenzio) and April 22, 2023 (Father Marciano), which occurred far from where they stayed with love, prayer, and daily service for 35 and 31 years respectively. May their memory be a source of inspiration, strength, and tenacity to reach the goal for Egidio whose path was opened fifty years ago.

Walter Arzaretti