Doctrinaries Brother: the vocation of a consecrated person

The pilgrimage to France of the Congregation of the Fathers of Christian Doctrine, a return to its spiritual and historical sources, was also an opportunity for the Doctrinaries Brothers from four continents to meet. Brother Vincenzo Arcadipane, through his life story, offers the reflections the pilgrimage inspired in him, deepening his understanding of the value of the vocation of a consecrated doctrinarie brother.
I began my journey into the Congregation in the summer of 1958. At that time, the role of Brother was not seen as a vocation distinct from the priesthood, but rather as a limitation: I didn’t have the ability to study, so I remained a Brother. But there were some outstanding figures, such as Brother Giulio Sticca, a respected sacristan at the Gesù Nazareno parish in Turin, and Brother Guido Casagrande, in the community of San Damiano d’Asti.
On October 4, 1959, at the beginning of the Novitiate, the application for admission contained the odious clause: since I cannot become a priest, I ask to remain a Brother. At that time, there was much talk in Brazil of Irmão Izaias Queiroz do Nascimento; the Fathers who returned from there for vacation spoke highly of him. When I went to Brazil, he was already elderly; the humility with which he had worked so hard with the Fathers, without ever losing it, was evident in him.
After my religious profession, the superiors assigned me to Craviano di Govone, where there was a college, led by the elderly Father Giovanni Roagna in my first year, who was succeeded by Father Silvio Bagna. It was a difficult experience: I assisted in studying the children of the first immigration from the South who were neglected by their families because their parents thought above all about working to obtain money, the real reason why they had emigrated.
A few days before October 11, 1962, the Provincial Father informed me in a letter of my transfer to Rome. On the famous evening of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, I was at the Asti station waiting for the train from Turin; those who had been able to had heard Pope John XXIII’s famous “Moon Speech.” I was unaware of all this. In Rome, at Santa Maria in Monticelli, I was warmly welcomed by my brothers, especially the seminarians. On October 4, 1963, I made my final profession before the Superior General, Father Francesco Scrivano, who himself led the Spiritual Exercises, but some reflections did not convince me: being a Brother meant remaining one not by vocation.
Around the 1970s, I asked my superiors in Rome if I could resume my studies, and they grudgingly said yes. I hadn’t completed my middle school diploma, so I prepared myself and in June I went to Sanremo, where at the time we had a private school. I took the exam, which I passed with a passing grade. Buoyed by the unexpected result, in September, again with the approval of my superiors, I enrolled in the three-year Diocesan Course in Theology for the Laity and obtained the certificate of Liturgy Animator. I then continued with other studies, convinced that the Brothers, too, needed to be trained. Around 1976, my superiors decided to transfer me to Sicily with the young Father Gian Mario Redaelli, along with other older Fathers. We left in April by train and, upon arriving in Catania, were stranded because transportation had been suspended for the National Holiday. In the afternoon, we set off again for Vittoria, where we were joyfully welcomed by Fathers Lodovico Santoro, Carmelo La Bella, and Dario Liscio. The next day we picked up a car we had previously purchased and set off for Mazzarino. Upon arrival, Fathers Ernesto Ferrero and Giuseppe Botta welcomed us fraternally. We set to work in the Oratory, which was owned by the Salesians. Father Gian Mario, a young priest, began a challenging job with unruly boys and often returned to Rome to continue his studies, so I was left alone with the other priests, myself and Father Carmelo La Bella, the only natives of Mazzarino.
In the summer, other brothers came to visit us, Father Giovanni Perizzolo and Father Giancarlo Calunietti, and some young men who wanted to gain experience in the Congregation, like Father Giuseppe Giunta, also from Vittoria. I was already in poor health at the time.
During this period, some Brothers asked their Superiors to resume their studies to become a priest. Personally, I always believed that remaining a Brother did not mean being inferior, but rather living a positive experience. The Chapter of the Congregation then decided to end the Mazarin experience. In early September, we left, and after the holidays, I returned to Rome, to Santa Maria in Monticelli.
The Provincial Father then assigned me to Fratte di Salerno, where I had previously been and where I spent 18 years, dealing with catechesis, the Oratory and lithography. I also attended the Minister of Communion course, received the mandate and began to bring Jesus to the sick.
In October 1997, my Superiors transferred me to Rome, still at Santa Maria in Monticelli, after a vacation trip to Brazil to visit our communities. At Santa Maria, there were only the Superior General and the seminarians; I was the only Brother. The church was closed for renovations.
In February 1999, the diaconate was expected to be conferred on the seminarians Sergio La Pegna, Paolo De Leo and Patrick Lo Buono, but there was no electrical system in the church; I got busy and so, after many years of closure, the church of Santa Maria was reopened and Msgr. Rino Fisichella was able to celebrate the Holy Mass with the conferral of diaconal ordination.
Father Sergio La Pegna had attended the course organized by the Congregation for the formation of the law and practice of Religious Institutes. I also attended and even took a cooking course; in short, I wasn’t satisfied. During those years, I also participated in the Chapter for the revision of the Constitutions.
The years pass, and we are no longer young. The Congregation is expanding, in India, Burundi, and Tanzania. And here’s the news: a new Brother in India, and others from Burundi, all very talented. This is the good news: Brothers aware of their vocation to serve the Lord and the Congregation in humility, without feeling they lack the priesthood.
Brother Carlo Mangione of the Camillian Fathers comes to mind, originally from Vittoria, of the Madonna Assunta parish, and for a couple of years Provincial Superior of his Order which he governs with humility and love of the Lord.
This writing is intended to encourage brotherhood between Priests and Brothers.

fratel Vincenzo Arcadipane