Father Francesco, who would have turned 37 on 15 July, was travelling to the Gardaland theme park with some young people from the oratory. With him was Alberto, a 16-year-old Grest youth leader and athlete with Novatletica Città di Schio. United in service and friendship, they remained together until the very last moment of their earthly lives.

A grieving community turns to prayer

The joint funeral service for Father Francesco and Alberto was presided over by the Rector Major of the Salesians, Father Fabio Attard, the 11th Successor of Don Bosco, who wished to be present in person to share in the community’s grief. In his opening remarks, the director of the Salesian centre in Schio, Don Ivan Ghidina, expressed the shared sentiment: ‘One thing unites us all: the love we have for these brothers of ours and the love they have given us’, greeting the families, the young people, the civil authorities and the confreres who had travelled from afar.

In his opening address, Father Fabio Attard broadened his perspective beyond the borders of Schio. “At 00.05 Italian time,” he recalled, “a terrible earthquake brought an entire country – Venezuela – to its knees. A few hours later, a terrible accident in the Malo tunnel cut short the lives of our dear Alberto and Fr Francesco.” Two distant tragedies, united by the mystery of human suffering.

The Rector Major gave voice to the bewilderment felt over the past few days: “Grief and anger, light and hope – we have experienced all of these during these long days of tears and smiles, of silence that questions life and calls faith into question.” He mentioned by name the mothers and fathers, the sisters and the brother, acknowledging that the greatest pain is felt first and foremost in their homes.

Acting as a messenger of the fraternal solidarity of the Venezuelan Province, he emphasised how the entire Salesian Congregation – confreres, lay people and young people – has rallied around Schio. Then came the simple yet powerful invitation: “Let us unite our hearts to thank the Lord of Life for the great gift of Alberto and Father Francesco, for their smiles, their joy and their kindness.”

Not just mourning, then, but gratitude. Not just tears, but faith in the promise: “Let us pray to the Eternal Father that one day we may meet them again, where no sorrow can reach us and no one can ever separate us again.”

The homily: tears, consolation and resurrection

The central moment of the funeral service was the reading of the Gospel account of the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11). The homily, delivered by Father Enrico Gaetan in accordance with Father Francesco’s wishes, did not shy away from the questions that arise in the midst of grief: ‘Lord, if you had been here…’. Questions that dwell in the heart of a wounded city.

Recalling that Jesus too ‘wept’ before his friend’s tomb, he emphasised that God is not distant from our grief, but shares in it. ‘We need God’s consolation’ – a consolation that does not wipe away the tears, but illuminates them with hope.

Then came the call that echoed through the hall: ‘Lazarus, come out!’ An invitation addressed above all to young people not to remain prisoners of the tomb of sadness, but to transform sorrow into love. Because – he reminded them – when we feel loved, we rise again, and when we love someone, we bring them back to life.

He remembered Fr Francesco as a ‘shepherd who smells of his sheep’, a priest who broke the Bread and laid down his own life for young people; and Alberto as a precious pearl that had grown in the field of the oratory. Their shared death holds a painful mystery but also a radiant witness: a life shared to the very end, in the spirit of self-giving.

Gratitude that becomes communion

After Communion, the Provincial of the Salesian Province of North-East Italy, Father Silvio Zanchetta, expressed, on behalf of the bereaved families and the entire Salesian Family, a profound and heartfelt thanks to the civil authorities, the Municipality of Schio, the Province, the Region, the police, the Civil Protection Agency, the Red Cross, the volunteers and all those who generously collaborated to make such a well-attended and dignified farewell possible.

This expression of gratitude served as public recognition of a town capable of coming together as a family. In the face of adversity, Schio showed its truest colours: united, supportive, caring, and a guardian of the good that has been sown.

The voices of the fathers

The final farewells to Father Francesco and Alberto were entrusted to the words of their respective fathers, in one of the most touching and deeply moving moments of the entire ceremony.

Alberto’s father, Andrea Fioretto, read a letter from his son’s teacher, who remembered him as ‘brilliant and original, enthusiastic and curious’, capable of leaving ‘a trail of light’ in everyone he met. Then, holding up his almost-new trainers, he confided: ‘He lived a short life, but he lived it to the full. He came a long way.’ And his closest friends wrote: “Our quartet will now become a trio, but you will always remain in our hearts.”

Father Francesco’s father, Claudio Andreoli, described his son as “in love with God with the heart of Don Bosco”, capable of infectious joy and a disarming embrace. Quoting from his spiritual testament – “Here I have found a home. Here I want to be wholly yours for their sake” – he invited everyone to “roll away the boulder of grief” and to keep running, symbolically in trainers, towards others: “This will be our garment of God.”

A legacy that lives on

The words of the priests, the tears of the young people, the commemorative video produced by the oratory leaders, the final silence that became prayer: all spoke of a truth stronger than the tragedy.

Fathr Francesco and Alberto have left a mark that will never fade. Their smiles, their dedication and their passion for education will continue to live on in the oratory’s courtyards, in the hearts of the young people, and in the faith of a community which, though wounded, chooses to transform grief into commitment.

The good that has been given is not lost. And what has been lived out in love continues, beyond death.

The funeral service and the final moments of farewell are available via the YouTube live stream link, through which you can relive and share this profound moment of faith and communion.

{gallery}ITALIA – Funerale don Francesco 2026{/gallery}