People From Lombardy

"[Return from Filippini's Pasture, in 1865].. is a desolate painting in which the shorn sheep seem to take on a symbolic value, with that blood-red sunset in the background."

"Francesco Filippini gave the first landscape conclusions to Lombard painting, derived from the romantic impressionism of Tranquillo Cremona. His paintings, all meticulously executed from nature, with precise representation of objects achieved through an exact sense of muted tones, are summarized by a deep overall harmony. They reveal a sense of panoramic grandeur and a contained poetic sentiment, showcasing the artist’s originality."

"I am looking for a truly alpine place, preferably above 1000 meters, a site where one can live discreetly without nuisances, not frequented by tourists and outsiders… and also with the near certainty of being able to have models and possibly costumes."

"Filippinism"

"A name is not just a sound, it has a profound meaning. The problem is they do not think about what they are doing."

"We wish to approach, in the name of the Church, all people who are suffering, entering spiritually into every hospital and place of care, into all residences for the elderly and into homes together with their families and those who care for them, who are admirably attentive to human frailty."

"The migrant shouldn't be looked upon as a problem by both the Church and the State. In the Church there are no foreigners. She is like a mother who welcomes, loves and values everyone, because they are all her sons and daughters."

"The spiritual emergency is more widespread. All we hear about is the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-2021. This has led to a state of spiritual aridity, with people besieged by emotions, apprehensions and news. We live in limbo, but beneath the news there is often a void."

"We need to overcome the emotional reaction that says that to be good we must accept everyone, or that to be serious we must reject everyone. This emotional aspect may serve as a slogan for election campaigns, but not for the society we want."

"I remembered the prophet Jeremiah: as national catastrophe loomed, wiping out the Kingdom of Judah, he bought a field, investing in the future. This was the opposite of those who, in this day and age, have become even richer without caring about providing jobs or redistributing wealth."

"The death of Sister Luisa Dell'Orto leaves us heartbroken and disconcerted, it becomes a revelation of the good she did and of the holy life she lived, it becomes pain and prayer. On behalf of the Ambrosian Church, I express my participation in the mourning of her family, in the grateful and sorrowful memory of all those who knew her, and in the certainty that her death, so similar to that of Charles de Foucauld, united to the death of Jesus, may be a seed of new life for the land of Haiti and for its entry into glory."

"The Catholic University is working on and thinking about a more humanistic economy. What's the point of calling ourselves Catholic if we're designing the same economy as Harvard or Bocconi?"

"Blessed are you, Milan, for the multicoloured faces of your people [...], because you give voice to those who have no voice and come to the aid of those who have no help."

"It is with a trembling heart that I take up this new commitment as the Bishop of Moroto Diocese, returning to a place where I consider my Diocese and my people, where I spend my best years as a Missionary priest. I greatly rely on your prayers, support and cooperation as I take up the service of shepherding the people of God."

"Every day I do new things, I'm very happy to live in this loop. I live tossed around Italy, but I'm very excited. I've been singing since I was little, I've never actually studied. But in the villages there were the first experiences of singing in public. I listen to a lot of different music, I don't listen to rap that much. I mostly listen to pop. I like melodies that are beautiful to sing. I am lucky that I have many trusted people who follow me. I also have my sister who is working with me a little, she has no reason to wrong me, when she tells me something I'm sure she is saying it for my good."

"In my opinion Amici is not a competition or just a talent show, but a school of life, because a leap like this is only made when human relationships are real, when you are "friends" with a capital "A". At four years old my father Marco asked me what I wanted to do as a hobby. I told him that I wanted to play the piano, which was already played in the family, and to play tennis. My parents immediately allowed me to do both. I consider myself very lucky. Tennis, which I played at a competitive level, was fundamental. It's an individual sport: if you win, you just win, ditto if you lose. On the field I almost eat the ball as much as I want to do it."

"I am in favor of criticism because I think that even negative criticism helps everyone grow, both as a person and as an artist. For me it's important to know from people who don't like you what the reason is for trying to improve yourself. Among the compliments, however, I am pleased when they tell me that I am genuine and simple. I like that it comes out that I'm not a big person. I feel like the same person as before with a little more awareness. Before I was completely out of this world and now I'm realizing that I can face it. Obviously there are people who like me who support me and, therefore, having this little extra awareness doesn't hurt."

"When I was ten I was very sure of myself; once a year I skied and on that occasion I was always convinced that I would win all the competitions and in fact I did. I threw myself into it without fear. Then I moved on to tennis and I started to be more afraid of making mistakes. I got scared and started making more mistakes than I would have if I hadn't had all that paranoia. I started to doubt myself, to have no self-esteem. On some days it's freezing, on others it's below zero. I am very self-critical and I always want to give my best, I think this is the reason. I feel a bit Sexy Magica: I understand it as synonymous with carefreeness. I do what I feel like doing, I'm myself."

"My father was a piano teacher, while my mother played the piano: it goes without saying that the passion in me was born very early and that my parents have always supported me, advising me to play the classical piano while I was singing. I lived my life with everyone singing around me – whatever passion I had, my family always supported me. If this doesn't happen, you unfortunately start with one point less."

"I still don't feel like populate. Of course, walking through the streets of my city there are people who stop and ask me for a photo, it's a beautiful thing."

"Are we changing for good, for the real well-being, or are we impoverishing our comprehension of the human being, our respect for the human being, therefore also our respect for society, respect for our history? Those questions in this moment call, among other things, my attention in this great country which is Canada."

"The main message that we have is the message of hope. I'm absolutely convinced that what we proclaim is the good news."

"It is necessary to interrupt one's time and dedicate part of it to one's own cultural growth."

"Don Albino will lead us by the hand and help us find the path to a "holiness" accessible to everyone who desires to enter into the evangelical call of Jesus, addressed to all. Holiness as "lofty" inspiration certainly, but within the reach of every true disciple; holiness that is capable of dwelling in the ordinariness of one's own personal calling."

"In imitation of Christ – the Good Shepherd par excellence – the exercise of the pastoral governance coincides with the offering of a life to the point of full consummation of self. So Christ did, so did the holy pastors."

"Detachment was something that cost me a lot: detachment from my parents, Superiors, town, language, everything; when I boarded the steamer I said goodbye forever. We will see each other again in heaven."

"He was not one of your sons, you hardly knew him, he spoke only a few words of your language...why have you come to his funeral? This is the power of the faith, this is what it means to be Christians."

"In Paraguay, the social and political scenery remains delicate. It is necessary to work to ensure respect for the common good and the defense of ethics. Pastors are committed to accompanying the Paraguayan people and promoting dialogue for the common good."

"The Church in Cameroon is alive, with a notable religious fervor."

"For Benedict XVI, who with wide eyes and joyous heart climbed as a boy up to the sanctuary of Altötting, the Virgin Mary represents the achieved figure of his personality and his existence. In the Annunciation the Immaculate pronounced the fiat that was to unfold all its strength in the stabat of Calvary and was to find full accomplishment in the mystery of the Assumption. Mary, in fact, tells us all there is to know about cooperating in consent."

"As a bishop, the things I would like to emulate about him are his ability to dialogue."

"Patience is needed to travel this path at a pace dictated by the Heart of the disciples, by the Heart of the Church. It is patience that the Vicars of Christ, the Bishops, are called to cultivate and here we see how difficult the episcopal mission is."

"We firmly believe that the contribution of the social doctrine of the Church and of the Pope's Magisterium can offer support even in a pluralistic society such as that of today."

"Society is evolving rapidly and so are the conditions in which people live their faith. I am sure that the Church in Zimbabwe will be able to profit from its rich history and the faith, commitment, professionalism, and zeal of so many Priests, religious and lay people in order to face creativity in the new times that are ahead of us."

"I had the privilege of knowing the late Bishop Mazzolari personally, particularly during the days of the liberation struggle. He dedicated his life to serving the Catholic Church in the Sudan, and he will be remembered for his heroic commitment to the struggle of the people of southern Sudan for freedom, equality, justice, and human dignity."

"They know what they want to achieve and they're willing to pay the cost to achieve it. I believe we have to walk alongside with them, I think we have to help them to continue to walk when it will become difficult, and I don't believe it is the time historically to continually postpone."

"Our service does not have, or should not have, any other aim if not that of a humble service of the Gospel in favor of humanity . In this period, in which being a Christian is equivalent in many countries to being discriminated and persecuted, the presence of all the Churches in this Assembly is an event of intense communion and revival of love for evangelization. The Word of God runs through the continents and cannot be stopped by man. But for this to happen, it needs arms, hearts, messengers to proclaim it."

"These days extend shadows of death over our common life and our families and, at the same time, we cannot help but recognize the signs of spring. The resurrection is the flower that blooms and anticipates the joy of being able to taste its fruit one day. It is the bud that is blooming. To die like Christ and with Christ, in the events of our life, is to make the power of love dwell in our dead. We do not have the strength of the love of Christ but he confers it on us."

"There is no Church without the Eucharist. The fact that it is not available makes us become a Protestant Catholic Church, because we lack the Eucharist and the other sacraments."

"Preaching is difficult due to differences in language, traditions, laws and social resistance. So we are preaching first of all in the language of love by caring for the poor, the abandoned, the young and the old, by helping the suffering and visiting those in hospitals and prisons. The response is good. People notice that we are with the poor. It is not propaganda, but concrete presence."

"Our main concern now is to bring peace to the hearts of the people. Schools have an important role in this since classes have children of different ethnic groups and this is where they can be educated to live side by side."

"In Ethiopia I really understood the Gospel."

"Africa is not only on the receiving end. Africa can give a lot to the rest of the world. We are called to work for this to happen."

"In this tragedy I would like to underline a beautiful thing, in my opinion, and that is the Uganda's capacity to welcome."

"You can't build peace if you're not educated in peace and if you don't educate peace. Because peace is a mature fruit with many aspects to it. It doesn't come as a spontaneous reaction. Often building peace means first overcoming many difficulties: tensions, problems, diverse positions. So without training, without peace education that involves feelings and thought processes, peace won't get built. Or it may get built, but on very shaky foundations. There's no peace without peace education."

"Catholic Schools operate in all the different geographical areas, even those where there is no religious freedom, or which are socially and economically most disadvantaged, with an astonishing capacity to meet emergencies and formative needs, despite at times, great difficulties."

"It is necessary to promote in the faithful the sense of responsibility and participation for a better awareness and a greater commitment to contribute to the life of the ecclesial community. In Israel, the Catholic Church of the Latin rite, as well as various parishes celebrating in Arabic, is present with a community in Hebrew that is rather composite and even variable, since many migrants of different origins are part of it. Pastorally and socially it appears lively as well as growing. It can be said that it is a highly symbolic reality, representing the Church of Christ within His people. The Catholic communities of the Melkite, Maronite, Greek-Catholic, Syrian-Catholic and Armenian rites that exist in Israel and Palestine also face the challenge of the dwindling number of the faithful and clergy as well as the scarcity of resources. They express the richness of faith, of liturgy, of the identity of the Christian East that must be protected. Moreover, being part of the Catholic Church as such, they are faithful to the Holy Father and attest to the universality of the Church of Christ, not only geographically but also in temporal terms, referring to the origins of the Church that is present in the Holy Land in a peculiar way with various rites of equal dignity."

"Venerable Brethren and Beloved Sons, having surveyed the present economic system, We have found it laboring under the gravest of evils. We have also summoned Communism and Socialism again to judgment and have found all their forms, even the most modified, to wander far from the precepts of the Gospel."

"The true Christian does not renounce the activities of this life, he does not stunt his natural faculties; but he develops and perfects them, by coordinating them with the supernatural. He thus ennobles what is merely natural in life and secures for it new strength in the material and temporal order, no less then in the spiritual and eternal."

"Pope Pius XI was a man of tremendous force of character. When annoyed, he had a trick of pulling his skull cap over his ear, a gesture which it was prudent to regard as a storm signal. This only happened to me twice, once when I was instructed to make unwelcome proposals for the treatment of missionaries in Africa, and once when he told me in pungent terms what he thought of Hitler's persecution of the Jews. But he could be charming too. When I took my wife to see him, I told him that it happened to be the fourth anniversary of our wedding. He had in his room a long oak refectory table on which were laid out Epiphany presents which he had received from all parts of the world. He padded round the table like an old antiquary examining his wares and picked out two objects for the children. "And here," he said, "is something very suitable for Mama: a picture of St. Peter's maid-of-all-work. Very suitable," he added prophetically, "for one day you also may be a maid-of-all-work.""