A simple but intense visit was enough to leave an indelible mark in the heart of the community of Montoro. And since that September 7, the inhabitants of the small hamlet of Piano, in the province of Avellino, have never stopped talking about Robert Francis Prevost, at the time a cardinal and prefect of the dicastery of bishops, who now became Pope with the name of Leo XIV.
The memory of that day is more alive than ever. Prevost had come at the invitation of the parish priest Don Adriano D'Amore, on the occasion of the Nicolo Jubilee, in the parish dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, two figures dear to the Augustinian Order to which the new Pope belongs. The memory is mixed with emotion, as in the words of Andrea, an elderly disabled man who, through tears, tells of when the cardinal noticed him in the crowd, helped him out and made him sit next to him. Or as in the still emotional smile of Raffaele, a young man who received a caress on the head and the invitation not to lose his faith.
Since yesterday afternoon, when the name of Leo XIV went around the world, Montoro has become a small altar of remembrance. At the bar in the village, the cup from which the then cardinal drank a coffee has been put on display, transformed into a sort of secular relic. Everyone remembers his simplicity, his concrete closeness to the people, and now they entrust him with a great hope: “You bring peace where there is war”, is the phrase that is repeated like a mantra in the alleys of the town.
Maria, an elderly local woman, still remembers the moment when Prevost wanted to know her name: “With that humility, he will be a great Shepherd of the Church”, he says. The visit ended after 22 pm with a frugal dinner in the Santaniello family home, based on mozzarella and a taste of the famous coppery onion of Montoro, before setting off again by car towards Rome.
Article published on May 9, 2025 - 18:15 pm
