Giovanni Benedetti

"As a bishop, I was never political, but I always tried to make my presence felt among the people, standing with them and defending them when necessary. I always spoke to everyone because I felt strongly that whoever was in front of me was, before anything else, a human being."

"I met Benedetti a couple of times back in the 1990s at theological gatherings in Rome, shortly after he retired from Foligno, and was struck by his gentleness and lack of pretense, despite his impressive résumé."