Redemptoris Mater seminarian grew up in a missionary family
The B.C. Catholic
Father Davide Lanzani was ordained Dec. 4, 2015, the first Redemptoris Mater seminarian to be ordained. He spoke to The B.C. Catholic about growing up in a missionary family, and about later living in the world’s most atheistic country.
The B.C. Catholic: Why did you decide to become a priest?
Father Davide Lanzani: I have always felt a very strong calling from God. There were many times in my life when I was considering it, and many other times when I was avoiding my vocation and putting it aside. If today I’m a priest, it was because the Lord insisted in a very strong way.
I felt this calling through World Youth Days, through catechists, through priests, through the word of God. I felt like answering the call of God, and giving Him a chance to do something in my life. Today He is working marvels and I’m a priest because I had signs in my life that He was calling me to the priesthood.
BCC: Your parents are still missionaries in the Philippines. What was that like when you were growing up?
FDL: My parents got married in Rome, and moved after a few years to a region in the south of Italy, and then to the Philippines. They’ve been in the Philippines almost 30 years now as a missionary family. They take care of the Neocatechumenal communities throughout the country.
I was born there and grew up in a missionary environment, in a simple environment. My parents had no stipend, no salary, no income at all; they were not paid by the archdiocese in Rome that had sent them. We relied totally on God’s providence, on what the sisters and brothers would give out of charity.
I am very grateful for my years growing up in that environment of mission, because it planted seeds in my heart that testify to me that God is a God of love.
I was the seventh of 10 children. We lived in a house that was provided for us, ate food that was given to us. Our very simple life showed me that what is important is not what you have, or what you can get, but Jesus Christ.
My parents passed that on to me as they witnessed this to us, giving all their lives to God. To them, that was the most important thing, and it has helped me so much growing up.
Today I wish to follow their footsteps as a diocesan missionary priest. I would love to live this type of mission.
God is good. God has taken care of me and provided for my life. There were many times, growing up, when I wanted to neglect Him, or thought God didn’t want my good. But when I look back, I can’t say God was not good.
BCC: Would you ever become a missionary, and what area would you choose?
FDL: The Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Vancouver was erected by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, particularly to send missionaries to Asia and China, but I’m open. I’ve been to many countries and places, and really, wherever the Lord wishes, I will go.
Of course I have a special connection to the Philippines, so I have my heart there, but if you do the will of God, there the Lord is waiting for you. China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia: wherever it is, the Lord will provide.
BCC: I’ve always been impressed by the ability of priests to speak languages. How many do you speak?
FDL: My first language is Italian. I can speak English and some Spanish. I can handle basic French, and basic Tagalog because I was raised in the Philippines. I spent one year in Estonia, where they gave me some lessons in Russian. It’s not wonderful, but I’ve picked up some words.
BCC: As a world traveller, what is one of your most memorable experiences?
FDL: One of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had was the one year I was sent to Estonia, during my seventh year in seminary. I had just finished my theology in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Rome, where I was formed, and seminarians are usually sent for one or two years to a mission.
I was sent to Estonia in 2012, and spent a whole year with the parish priest at the only Catholic church in the capital, Tallinn. Estonia is one of the most atheistic countries in the world; the Catholic population is minimal. The people have a very closed mentality, and there were a lot of struggles, humanly speaking.
The Lord took me from my beautiful promised land in Rome, from my community, to a place that was totally unknown to me, to serve a parish without knowing the language, without knowing anyone, barely knowing the pastor I was assigned to help out.
It was very difficult, but the Lord spoke to me as He had never spoken before. He truly showed me how to live on what comes out of the mouth of God, and not on bread alone. He showed me I could be filled only with Jesus Christ, and how to be joyful despite problems.
There the Lord spoke to my heart. That filled me up, and that relationship was just to show Christ is enough; all the rest is not important.
BCC: How have your years as a seminarian help shape your life?
FDL: I entered the seminary when I was 18, quite young, and the experience was tough, although I felt very strongly about the call to priesthood. Growing up in the faith, I had always been taught to follow God’s will, but I always had an inner struggle to do God’s will rather than my own.
My desires weren’t always so Catholic, like having a girlfriend, running my life, having projects, and doing what I wanted.
I was sustained in my struggle by my Neocatechumenal community. Redemptoris Mater seminaries are based on and founded by the Neocatechumenal Way. Every seminarian has to have had his basic Christian formation in a Neocatechumenal community.
It was a great joy to have a Christian community helping me through difficult moments and crises. Somehow the Lord has given me zeal to take the Gospel to all nations, thanks in part to my Neocatechumenal community. It has shown me what it means to be a baptized Christian, what it means to be a son of God.
Of course, the seminary that formed me for eight years has been a great help, but I saw it as an intensive course of Christian formation. It reconstructed my broken relationship with God, and for that I am very thankful.
BCC: Is the life of a priest anything like you expected?
FDL: I was ordained Dec. 3, 2015, about six months ago. Of course the beginning is a beautiful honeymoon, as I see the immense graces the Lord has bestowed upon me.
It’s an immense joy to see the Lord has somehow chosen me, who have many times betrayed Jesus, to espouse the Church. To me that is like paradise.
I’ve been working in St. Patrick’s Parish since I was ordained a deacon, and staying in the parish has helped me a lot. I’ve learned more about the diocese, as I’ve only been here for two to three years now.
I know see there is a lot of work that has to be done. Jesus said the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. I see a great need for evangelization, for bringing people to Christ.
The Holy Spirit consoles me with the knowledge that I’m just one worker in this harvest, and I will contribute what I can. The Holy Spirit will inspire and perform many things. For myself, I am honoured to be one of the workers trying to do His will.
BCC: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
FDL: If today I’m a priest, all the things that I have received and that I have seen are truly because of the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way. I was born thanks to this movement, started by Francisco Argello almost 50 years ago. It has shown me the beauty of my calling, who I am called to be.
