Italian priest Fr. Rizzi Giovanni passed away on April 17, at the age of 93.
According to FOCUS TAIWAN, Fr. Rizzi Giovanni, an Italian priest of the Camillians religious order who had served in Taiwan for more than six decades, died on April 17 of heart failure. He was 93.
According to a statement issued by Camillian Saint Mary's Hospital Luodong, which was established by the Camillians, Giovanni was born in the autonomous province of Trento in Italy in 1927.
He joined the Camillians, or the Ministers to the Sick, at the young age of 12 and made serving the sick his primary mission in life, the statement said.
Giovanni became the third priest in his family in 1952 and was sent to Taiwan two years later. He first landed in Luodong Township in Yilan County, before transferring to the offshore Penghu County.
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To get closer to the people in Taiwan, he learned the Taiwanese Hokkien dialect and frequently told people he met that he was a "genuine Taiwanese," the statement said.
FOCUS TAIWAN mentions, back in Luodong, he did everything he could to take care of tuberculosis patients during his stint as head of the Wanshan Sanitorium, even helping the poor with the daily living expenses of their families, aside from medical expenses.
He frequently shared his meager allowances with them, even though his pants were full of patches, the statement said, and he never asked for a reason or a note promising repayment from those who borrowed money from him.
He was honored with a Medical Contribution Award from the Health, Welfare and Environment Foundation and the Order of Brilliant Star with Violet Grand Cordon from the Presidential Office, and received numerous other forms of recognition, the statement said.
FOCUS TAIWAN says, in December 2017, Giovanni was granted Taiwan citizenship due to his contributions to Taiwanese society.
Giovanni's remains are currently in the chapel of Saint Mary's Hospital for public viewing. They will be moved to Our Lady Assumption Church in Luodong on Saturday and laid to rest in a Catholic cemetery in Yilan that day after a mass and memorial service, the statement said.
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