Naples bids farewell to Father Giuseppe De Gennaro, but L'Aquila mourns him. A Jesuit, poet, intellectual, and spiritual leader, he died in a nursing home on Posillipo Hill at the age of 92. A quietly revolutionary figure, he combined theology, culture, social action, and poetry, restoring to the word "faith" a lived, thought-through, and shared meaning.
Born in Vico Equense in 1932, he arrived in L'Aquila in 1968, called by Rector Pontieri to contribute to the founding of the newly founded state university. Since then, he has never left the city, not even when the 2009 earthquake destroyed his beloved home, "Dono di Gesù," which was later rebuilt. L'Aquila, he said, "is an inverted Jerusalem, tested by time but always capable of rising from its ashes."
A professor of Spanish Language and Literature in L'Aquila and of the History of Spanish Culture at Lumsa University in Rome, he founded the University of Prayer, a unique experience of reflection and meditation inspired by Saint Ignatius of Loyola and even visited by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. He represented L'Aquila's cultural associations before John Paul II in 1980, but also maintained direct relationships with figures such as Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini and philosopher Tsvetan Todorov.
He was the last Jesuit remaining in L'Aquila after the Order's withdrawal from the city. He remained faithful to the community that had welcomed him and to which he restored culture, beauty, and the inner tools needed to cope with grief. This afternoon, a Mass in his memory will be celebrated at the University of Prayer. A simple ceremony for one who chose silence as the path to truth.
Father Giuseppe De Gennaro was a hugely influential figure for L'Aquila and beyond. He did so much for culture and the community, but I wasn't familiar with his work, so I can only say I'm sorry for his passing.