Italian priest to be buried near grave of Fr. Favali

Fr. Fausto Tentorio

The body of Fr. Fausto Tentorio will be taken to Kidapawan City on October 24 for his funeral, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Thursday.

Quoting Kidapawan Bishop Romulo de la Cruz, the CBCP said the funeral Mass would be held on October 25 at Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces Cathedral.

The Mass will be followed by a procession to a cemetery in the city’s Balindog village, where Tentorio will be buried near the grave of his slain confrere, Fr. Tullio Favali.

Members of Tentorio’s family are expected to arrive in Kidapawan on Saturday from their native town of Lecco in Italy’s Lombardy region.

Dela Cruz said the vigil for Tentorio would continue for a week at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Arakan, North Cotabato, where he served as parish priest.

This is to give time to those who live in remote areas to travel to the church and pay their last respects to the slain missionary, De la Cruz said.

Favali, also a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), was gunned down by militiamen on April 15, 1985.

Tentorio, or “Father Pops,” as he was popularly known, was the third PIME priest murdered in the country. The second was Fr. Salvador Carzedda, who was killed in Zamboanga City on March 20, 1992.

Originally posted at 01:29 am | Friday, October 21, 2011