317. Priests are Made of This
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| June 29, 1962, at Pieve di Soligo some young men were consecrated by the then Bishop Albino Luciani, including "our" Fr Mario Borga. Congratulations on the fiftieth anniversary! |
This is an interview I made to
one of our Parish Priests on his celebration of 50 years as a priest. He talks candidly of his past, present and
future aspirations hopes and wishes.
If one asks Fr Mario Borga why he did not marry, it is quite likely he will answer,
"Because no one wanted me." And when asked why he became a priest, he
will reply, "So as not have had to
marry." This is the benevolent mood
and sense of humour that generally accompanies Fr Mario.
But in reality it is quite different.
The choice of becoming a priest was a well thought out one. After grammar school, sitting his state exams
at the Liceo Classico Flaminio in
Vittorio Veneto, he took a sabbatical year to decide whether to enrol at the
faculty of medicine or theology, with the result that well you see today.
This choice was then subjected to renewed reflection when the then Bishop of
Vittorio Veneto, Albino Luciani
imposed seminarians who were to take their vows as deacons, to reflect, and to
abstain from taking such vows if there was any doubt in their minds. Obviously there was no doubt in Fr Mario and
the choice of becoming a priest was confirmed.
That's why on June 19 this year, Fr Mario with his fellow seminarians celebrated
a Mass at the Basilica of San Pietro in Rome at the tomb of Pope Luciani, who
had ordained them priests 50 years ago.
Hence the life of Fr Mario is intertwined with that of
Pope Luciani: "I have
fond memories of Pope Luciani," says Fr Mario, "he had beautiful
human relationships with people, he spoke directly and spontaneously, he was a
person who you enjoyed being with- besides he was the one who gave the highest
marks of all the other teachers! "
In 1972, ten years after being ordained priest, Fr Mario and his fellow
seminarians wanted to celebrate the event with Luciani who had by then become
Patriarch of Venice.
Albino Luciani was able to quote from memory pages and pages of books by
authors not even well known, and loved to illustrate his sermons with episodes
from such books as the adventures of Don Quixote. Fr Mario remembers these episodes- here's one of
them... Albino Luciani told us, says Fr Mario, there was once a donkey entering
Jerusalem upon which Jesus was
sitting. The people welcomed him with
great celebration and applause from all sides. The ass seeing he was so well greeted, bows in
acknowledgment to right, he bows to the left, he bows to all sides. At some point, Jesus whispers into the donkey’s
ear, “Look, the applause is for me, not you.” So, Luciani said, "remember that you are donkeys,
and that the applause is for Jesus"
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| The Corpus Christi celebrated by Fr Mario 25 May 2008 Anzano. |
When Luciani was elected Pope, Fr Mario thought, I bet the first thing he does is get
rid of the 'Royal We' which was
reinstated by Pope Paul VI after the pontificate of John XXIII. In effect it was so, and Pope Luciani addressed
the faithful in the first person. But as
Pope, John Paul I did not stop only at this- he continued, to the embarrassment
of the prelates at the Vatican, to illustrate his talks with literary episodes
and revealing to his faithful his own personal anxieties. When Fr Mario heard the Pope speak on
television with his usual style, so human, so direct, he was amazed that a pope
spoke in such an unorthodox manner, but looking back, Albino Luciani was one
that touched people not only with his words, simple and human, but also with
his glances and in particular, with his everlasting smile. So it had to be expected that he would have a so
an innovative attitude as pontif.
For Fr Mario, one of the highlights of his priesthood was to see
Albino Luciani became Pope John Paul I and one of the saddest was when the pope
died suddenly after so short a stay as head of the universal Catholic Church.
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| Fr Mario celebrates baptisms in Sarmede |
But now let us return to Fr Mario, who was born 22 September 1938 in Chiarano (Treviso) where the day after
his consecration, he celebrated his first Mass together with his mother, father
and other family members on June 30, 1962, for which he had to
ask for a special dispensation from the
then Pope John XXIII because he had not yet reached the age of 24, the minimum
age required to become a priest. However it was not the first time the fact
that Fr Mario was to become a priest had been questioned. Since he suffered
from heart disease, he was not really suitable to be admitted to the
priesthood, but nevertheless was accepted.
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| 13.12.2008 Cappella Maggiore Fr Mario inaugurates the VI th century church of the Holy Trinity (Mattarella) after the work of restoration. |
Perhaps because of this physical factor or rather because of his innate
intelligence, Fr Mario was sent to teach at the Pius X College in Oderzo , the
function of which being to prepare missionaries for the Holy Land. After a year he was sent to the Collegio
Vescovile Balbi Valier at Pieve di Soligo, and here he remained for 42 years- i.e.
from 1963 to 2005. At college he taught mathematics, computer science and
religion. In addition he assisted the Director
as secretary and administrator of the college.
At the age of 67, in 2005 he left the college and in September of that year, as
he describes it, was recycled together with the present Mons. Mario Dall'Arche in the Pastoral Unit of
Sarmede, Cappella Maggiore and Anzano, as parish priest. Just like the goods in a supermarket, Fr
Mario says, the appointment expires in two years. And then what will you do?
"Until I don’t become a burden to others, I shall remain a parish
priest."
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| 11.02.2008 Sarmede. Fr Mario celebrates Mass in the chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes. |
After his 42 years of National Insurance contributions, Fr Mario officially-retired
and on his identity card, Fr Mario would like to add, he is not labelled as a priest
or teacher, but as a pensioner. But when
at 67 he retired from teaching, he discovered that life was not over, and one could
actually become a parish priest. To which
one would be inclined to add, "finally!"
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Costa (Vittorio
Veneto) November 2008
Celebrating Mass in the Church of Our Lady of Health
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School life is great, there remain good memories, but teaching is not like
water off a duck’s back, it is also stressful.
And the most stressful to teach is religion. With maths you go on straight ahead, you either know it or you don’t. But it is difficult to create interest in
religion. The late 60s and 70s were the years of protest,
and I might add, of secularism- if you were not young, continues Fr Mario, you
were considered a fascist, or they sometimes called you a thief because of the
college fees- but those who knew how to
do their maths, knew how much it costs to run a college and said nothing. School life is challenging, a mission, but it also
reserves many disappointments.
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| Sarmede 14.12. 2008 Feast of the Elderly Mass ... |
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| Sarmede 14.12. 2008 Feast for the Elderly Lunch ... |
Any regrets? I ask. Yes, replies
Fr Mario, that life does not give us a second chance. You cannot relive it
again. There are many who say, yes I'd
do everything I did all over again, but not me, says Fr Mario. I would widen my
culture, I would avoid certain mistakes, I would develop human relationships
more. No, I would not do the same thing
if I were to start again-I would be more reflective.
The most beautiful thing in my life, says Fr Mario, is that at 67 I became a parish priest here at
the Pastoral Unit. You always have fond memories of school, but college is tough,
what they wanted was to protest and challenge everything. In the parishes there
are only friends who take pleasure in just being in your company.
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From now on you will see Fr Mario arrive on his last generation bike-
that is, a bike with a small engine to give that extra boost where needed.
Perhaps this is also where a new adventure for Fr Mario begins.
The Editorial committee wish Fr Mario a happy 50th anniversary of his
ordination to the priesthood and together with the Pastoral Unit of Sarmede, Cappella Maggiore and Anzano wish him
a long and felicitous stay among us.
Thank you Fr Mario.
