Meet Father Giovanni Fornasini: His Love for his Parishioners Cost him his Life

Giovanni Fornasini was born on February 23, 1915, in Pianaccio, a small suburb of Belvedere in Bologna's Province of Italy. His father, Angelo, wasa charcoal burner, which was the title given to people who manufactured charcoal. His mom, Maria Gucci, and his older brother, Luigi, made up the family.

Angelo had been gassed in World War I and could no longer work at his trade. The family moved to Poretta Terme, about 50 miles away but still in Bologna Province. Here Angelo managed to get a job as a postman delivering mail. Maria got a job at a local spa, and the family settled in. Giovanni attended the local school but did not graduate. Whether or not he completed his elementary education is not known. It is documented that after leaving school, he managed to get a job as a "lift" (elevator) operator at the Grand Hotel in Bologna.

As a teenager, he knew he was called to the priesthood

Giovanni knew he was called to the priesthood. It is also known that at the age of 16, he was accepted into the minor seminary in Borg Capanne. That school closed in 1932, and he transferred to the Pontifical Seminary located in Bologna. He made his first priestly vow on February 2, 1934, when he was nineteen years old. He continued his studies, and on March 29, 1940, he was ordained a Subdeacon. The following year Giovanni was ordained a Transitional Deacon, and on June 28, 1942, he was ordained a priest.

He began his ministry as an assistant to Don Giovanni Roda in Sperticano, a suburb of Marzabotto, in Bologna Province. The parish comprised about 400 people, and Father Giovanni took a particular interest in all of them. They were his "children," and he took that responsibility seriously. His first Solemn High Mass was on July 12, 1942, at St. Thomas Church in Sperticano. In his homily, he told the people, "The Lord has chosen me to be an urchin among the urchins." (He was simply telling the people he was just like one of them).

When needed, Don Fornasini was a patriot and worked with the "Red Star Brigade" partisans during the war. On July 25, 1943, the young priest, only one year out from his ordination, made the church bells ring when Benito Mussolini was deposed from power. Mussolini was executed on April 28, 1945)

The Nazis were aware of his involvement with partisans

The Nazis were aware of Father Giovanni's involvement with the partisans and were watching him closely. The young priest defended the defenseless parishioners from the cruelty and oppression of the Nazis. He had saved many lives, and after escaping the initial Nazi massacres, he continued risking his life to save others.

On October 12, 1944, a German commander's birthday was celebrated in a school in Spertcano. Heavy drinking had turned into an orgy of reasonable men morphing into beast-men. Morality was non-existent, with unbridled human wants becoming the demands of the party-goers. In the corner sits a young priest, doing his best to contain anger ready to explode. Loud music with pagan dancing following it is in full swing. Prostitutes slip around the dance floor, encouraging men to follow them. But why would the young priest be there? Because he is trying to save one of his own.

During the day, an SS officer had seen a girl in the rectory mixed in with other evacuees. He decided he wanted this innocent young woman to be part of the evening's festivities." Don Giovanni has rescued many of his people from the Nazi killers. He now has another to save. It is the young woman from the rectory, brought to the "party" by the Nazi officer.

He stared them down all evening

He made his presence known at the event. To the dismay of the party-goers, he has stared them down all evening. He is the "pastor". The Nazis do not want to incite the local parishioners. Incredibly, the commander orders the priest to return to the church with the girl he came for. Don Giovanni breathes in deeply, and together, he and the young woman leave. The priest has saved her life and her virtue.

The next morning Don Giovanni, carrying his bag filled with the necessary oils and waters for burying the dead, climbs up the rock-covered road that leads to the bodies of the dead killed in battle and killed by Nazi executioners. He intends to bury as many of the dead as he can. As he reaches the top of the hill, he sees the same SS. Waffen officer who wanted the young girl the day before. The German soldier pulls out his gun, smiles at Don Giovanni, and promptly places a bullet into his head.

That is how the life of 29-year-old Don Giovanni Forasini ended. He died in "oblatio vitae" (offering one's life). He knew the consequences of his actions and embraced those consequences for the love of God and neighbor. He died on October 13, 1944.

On January 21, 2021, Pope Francis approved Don Giovanni's cause for beatification. No date has been set.