The relevance of the lesson by Alcide De Gasperi

On the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the death of Alcide De Gasperi, we are publishing the text of the homily that the dean of the College of Cardinals gave this morning, Friday 19 August, during the mass celebrated in the Roman basilica of San Lorenzo al Verano, where he is buried. statesman from Trentino.

68 years have passed since the death of Alcide De Gasperi and on this anniversary we want to remember him with the gratitude we owe to a man who has done a lot for Italy and for Europe. He was great as a man, as a Christian and as a statesman. Over time, his figure has not faded, on the contrary the recognition of the value of his thought and of the social and political vision and the recognition of the greatness of his work have grown.

Even if the social and political situation today has changed a lot compared to the historical years of Alcide De Gasperi, the lesson that comes to us from that past has a lot to teach to the people and society of today and tomorrow. It is a lesson that continues to be of great relevance.

We have a special debt of memory and gratitude to President De Gasperi, because he, after the destruction of the war, led the reconstruction of Italy with intelligent foresight, obtained the recovery of the country’s credibility in the international field and promoted the relaunch of the economy. , giving space to all those who were willing to give their contribution. He also defended the freedom that Italy had recently regained, but which at that moment was in danger of getting out of hand. Much of Italian life and history has been determined by the choices made by De Gasperi.

In Alcide De Gasperi’s soul, both spirituality and politics coexisted and characterized his personality: two deeply rooted dimensions, which stood out for their extraordinary brightness. Spirituality and politics always lived intertwined in De Gasperi: it seemed that one took strength and reason for life from the other. His political stature was the fruit of his intelligence, culture and humanity, but also of his spirituality and religious sensitivity.

He was a man steadfast in faith and a consistent statesman in political life, animated by a great sense of responsibility and a desire to serve the good of all.

If you really want to understand De Gasperi, you need to deepen not only the action he carried out and the ideas that moved him, but also the spirituality that animated him, because this was the root of his strength and the extraordinary service rendered to Italy.

He was a true believer, consistent with his faith, and a true statesman; he was a believer and a politician, in the clear distinction of roles.

He was a politician who always put the good of the country above personal or party interests; in De Gasperi’s decisions there always shines a high sense of the state and a radical conviction that the state is at the service of the human person.

At the same time his religiosity was transparent in all his actions, small and large. He never flaunted his faith and his religiosity, but they were part of his life. From this spiritual dimension comes his marked sense of justice, freedom and dignity of every human person. The measure of his solidity as a Christian was given above all in the years of misfortune, which entailed severe suffering, humiliation and deprivation for him and his family. After his time in prison, he had a hard time finding work to earn a living. He was barely able to pay the pension where he was staying by dedicating himself to translating from German. At meals he did not drink wine to save, so as to remain inside the little money he had. Then he was taken to work at the Vatican Library, but only as a precarious one. In order not to arouse reactions from fascism he was not hired in the Vatican roles and was paid not by the Administration of the assets of the Holy See, but by drawing on a small fund that the Library had at his disposal. His salary was far below merit. De Gasperi had to supplement his salary with some translations from German into Italian, which he could find. Only after 10 years his position was regularized and he was appointed secretary of the Vatican Library, with the corresponding just salary.

He was consistent and faithful to ideals in good times and bad. In his life, private and public, he always acted according to his conscience, feeling responsible in front of God. This allowed him not to give up or get depressed in the hard moments of the fascist persecution and failures, as well as never to get excited in the moments of the relevant achievements. .

The first books he asked for when he was put in prison were the Bible, theImitation of Christ and the Confessions of St. Augustine. During his imprisonment, the prayer of the Psalms and the Rosary, which Alcide recited every evening, thinking that around that time his wife and her children (then two) were also in prayer and then – so he wrote to his wife – ” my spirit kneels with you “(Letters from the prison, p. 26-27).

The letters that De Gasperi wrote from prison, mostly addressed to his wife Francesca, give us the measure of the depth of his spirituality and his religious life. In this regard, I would like to read an excerpt from the letter Alcide wrote to his wife the day after he was sentenced to 4 years in prison (later reduced). After spending the whole night sleepless thinking about the pain that his sentence would cause his elderly father, his wife and other family members, he began to cry. «And after the tears – so he writes – I began to reason. Why did the Lord let me hit like that? If it were only between me and his righteousness, I know, my sins would be at stake; but you, my holy and heroic creature, and my innocent daughters, and all mine and yours and good and just friends who have prayed? My God, how difficult it is to find the ontological reasons for pain! But then this is made public: I am a grain thrown back by his powerful hand into the vortex of the world, a pebble with which he kneads his building? what vortex, what building? I don’t know, but God has an inscrutable plan before which I bow in adoration, Francesca, and speaking I write to you and to all who love me. God can be neither unjust nor cruel. He loves us and makes us something that we do not understand today. By reasoning in this way, I was somewhat consoled ”(Letter of May 31, 1927). It is a moving letter. De Gasperi, humiliated politician and sentenced to prison, father of a family deprived of his rights and affections, after crying raises his thoughts to God and returns to God’s will; he bends down worshiping God’s plan, even if he doesn’t understand it, but he knows by faith that it is a plan inspired by love. This letter gives us the measure of De Gasperi’s high spirituality.

As prime minister, in a public speech, De Gasperi asked himself: “What is the beacon that illuminates the path on which we must move?”. The answer was: “In the decisive moment it is the conscience that pushes man to a decision” (Political speeches 1923-1954, p. 343). In the last days of his life in Sella di Valsugana he confided to his daughter Maria Romana: «I have done everything in my power; my conscience is at peace ».

His whole life was in harmony with his conscience as a man, as a citizen, as a Christian.

The testimony of De Gasperi’s life and the great examples he left us are a light that illuminates the path. Italy today is in great need of politicians with the spirit of De Gasperi. He remains an example of a Christian in politics to look at and draw inspiration from for his own personal conduct, for the good of the country and for the defense of the values ​​of our civilization.

This is why I am pleased that the study of his cause for beatification has been resumed. The testimony that Alcide De Gasperi left us cannot be forgotten.

by Giovanni Battista Re