Portalecce has recently published some testimonies on Msgr. Oronzo De Simone who will be seventy years of priesthood tomorrow, October 19. Next Sunday 23 October at 9.30 the archbishop Michele Seccia will preside over a solemn Eucharist a Lecce in the church of San Giuseppe to celebrate Don Oronzo’s anniversary and to thank him at the end of the ministerial service carried out since 1964 in the rectory a stone’s throw from Piazza Sant’Oronzo.
Mons.Oronzo De Simone which tomorrow will celebrate the milestone of seventy years of priesthood, is a true institution for the clergy and the people of Lecce, not only because it belongs to one of the best-known families in the city, but above all because his whole life bears witness to goodness, generosity and the zeal of a learned and humble priest who consecrated much of his pastoral activity for the diocese of Lecce.
His long service was characterized by the ability to combine the prestigious curial offices (among others, chancellor, defender of the bond and promoter of justice of the Lecce Court, director of the diocesan historical archive) with the enriching ministry in favor of the most needy, excellently exercised for many years at the juvenile prison of Lecce. Furthermore, his personal and epistolary ties with various cardinals and prelates of the Roman curia are also known, which were built up by his competence and by his generous affability.
Canon De Simone has never made any secret of having taken charge of his brother, the unforgettable Don Raffaele, especially in the last years of his earthly life, when, placed on a wheelchair, it was always Don Oronzo who assisted and carried him to the various diocesan celebrations. No one can forget this splendid example of brotherly love. The two priests were made for each other and Don Oronzo’s humble attitude left his brother so honored for his historical studies, even if Don Oronzo’s knowledge and deepening of canon law are not in no way inferior to Don Raffaele’s studies.
Also from the historical point of view, Don Oronzo represents for Lecce a mine of news and knowledge, made more and more precise by a careful examination of the documents, especially in the archives.
His interventions published in L’Ora del Salento and on are also appreciated Portalecce, with which he briefly presented the biographies of Lecce priests from the last century. His fluent pen and extraordinary memory of him painted figures of simple, competent and Gospel-loving shepherds.
Now, Mons Oronzo De Simone turns seventy years of priesthood and he still remembers with emotion that priestly ordination wanted by Msgr. Francesco Minervathe bishop who esteemed and valued him so much.
The passage of time has weakened our dear Don Oronzo in his body, but his spirit always remains firm and anchored to the grace of the Lord. He is very much suited to his high spirituality and to his priestly testimony, an ancient prayer, composed by an Armenian patriarch of the 11th century: “I beg you, Light in heaven above, Prince of the choirs of fire. May the gates of heaven also be open to me, as they once were to Israel. By grace, make my soul ascend on the ladder of light, a mysterious sign given to men on their return from earth to heaven … Deign again to anoint my head with your right hand that protects. I cannot fight with you, o powerful one, hand to hand like Jacob (Gen 32:25), since I am only weakness“(Nerses SnorhaliArmenian patriarch, SC 203).
And in this physical weakness of Don Oronzo we know that there is so much love for heaven and so much virtue …
