
CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER
THE MISSION IN AFRICA OF FR. COSTANTINO
pavia, church Santi Giacomo e Filippo - Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
The Foundation Frate Sole in the 15th year of the ascent to Heaven of its Founder, Father Costantino Ruggeri, is organizing a conference open to technicians, subject matter experts and friends on the theme "Culture of Encounter," as expressed inPope Francis' encyclical, 'Brothers All.
The word "culture" indicates something that has penetrated into the people, into their deepest beliefs and way of life. If we speak of a "culture" in the people, this is more than an idea or an abstraction. It includes desires, enthusiasm and ultimately a way of life that characterizes that human group. So, to speak of a "culture of encounter" means that, as a people, we are passionate about wanting to meet each other, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning something that involves everyone. This has become an aspiration and a way of life. The subject of such a culture is the people, not a sector of society that aims to keep the rest at peace by professional and media means. (FT, para. 216)
The subject was tackled by Fr. Costantino Ruggeri from the late 1970s and throughout the decade of the 1980s in the Franciscan mission in Burundi, where he was called to build, with the architect. Luigi Leoni, three religious and social complexes.
The time lived in Africa was an opportunity to encounter a people and a culture that proved to be rich in extraordinary human values, celebrating the beauty of community. From this experience Father Costantino drew a commitment not to transfer pre-packaged models, foreign to local culture and traditions, and to create spaces with the face and heart of the land in which he was commissioned to design.
He hoped that the contribution made would give rise to new forms and volumes that were inspired by the Barundi's dwellings and ways of life.
Prophetically, he dreamed that on the same continent could be born those who, like Pritzker Prize 2022 winner Diébédo Francis Kéré, interpreting the authentic aspirations of the African people, would create, spaces conceived with the sensitivity of the local community in mind.
Theintense cultural exchange allowed Father Costantino to bring with him into his artistic and human life the sensibility developed in the Burundi experience: one only had to enter his studio to enjoy the dozens of African masks, sculptures and handicrafts that enlivened the memory of the communities he met.
The Conference "Culture of Encounter - Fr. Costantino's Mission in Africa, " sponsored by the City of Pavia and ICOMOS PRERICO (Places of Religion and Ritual), will be held on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Pavia, at the Church of Saints James and Philip on Luigi Porta Street.
Speakers will be:
- Luigi Leoni, President of the Foundation Frate Sole ;
- Msgr. Luca Bressan, Episcopal Vicar for Culture of the Diocese of Milan;
- Maria Antonietta Crippa, professor Politecnico di Milano;
- Fr Roberto Tagliaferri, professor Institute of Pastoral Liturgy St. Justina of Padua;
- Ferdinando Zanzottera, professor Politecnico di Milano.
Olimpia Niglio, professor at the University of Pavia, will moderate.
After the conference, the Foundation Frate Sole will be pleased to share a convivial time at theOsteria del Collegio, 8 Luigi Porta Street.