Pioneer To Manipur Mission, Fr. Peter Bianchi Passes Away

By Fr. T.C. Joseph & Fr. Sony Pottenplackal, donboscoindia

DIMAPUR, MAR. 12, 2008, 17.30 Hrs:

Fr. Peter Bianchi, the pioneer Salesian Missionary of Manipur, is no more with us in person but his memory lives on. His life continues to inspire the faithful of Manipur and the Salesians in particular. He was laid to rest on the evening of March 10, 2008 at Punanamai-Mao in Manipur among the people whom he served and who affectionately welcomed him.

Fr. Peter Bianchi Sdb, affectionately called Pitrein at home, was born on 28th January 1922 at Passano Coriano in the North-eastern coast of Italy in the region of Romagna. This region is known for its warm blooded people with great spirit of determination and hard work. When we look at the life of Fr. Bianchi it is easy to notice that he himself inherited spirit of the region of his origin. His parents were Battista Bianchi and Arlotti Aurelia. He was the eldest child of the family of six children. He had his early schooling at Scuola Elementare in San Giovanni Marignano.

As a youngster he nurtured the desire to be a priest. On 27 April 1930, when he received the Holy Communion he expressed his desire to be a priest some day to Fr. Virgilio Pollini, his parish priest and that was also his special prayer that day. As a first step in this direction he joined the altar boys association. He kept insisting his desire to be a priest as he grew up.

In October 1933 he joined the Rimini Diocesan Seminary. It was here that he developed his interest for the missions and to become a missionary. As his desire to be a missionary grew he decided to join the Salesians of Don Bosco. (``I loved Don Bosco`s love for the naughty boys like me.``) He joined the Salesian aspirantate at Ivrea in 1937. But his stay here was very short.

His initial missionary love was for Japan. But the Superiors decided to send him to the missions of Assam. Thus on 23rd November 1938, he left his homeland and set sail for the missions in India. On 5th December he set his foot for the first time in the land of his dreams, India. He did his novitiate in Sonada, under Fr. Marengo. He made his first profession on 2nd April, 1940. He completed the philosophical studies in 1942. He had to do his theology in Prison Camp, Tirupathur, and Shillong.

As World War II broke out at this time life proved difficult. All the Germans and Italians were moved to concentration camps so were Fr. Bianchi and his other companions spending the next four years moving from place to palace and going through extreme hardships, studying also theology in the prison camps.

In 1944 Fr. Bianchi and others were freed from the concentration camp but were not allowed into the North East India but hard to go to Tirupathur. But the following year they were able to come to Shillong. Fr. Bianchi was sent to Don Bosco, Shillong to complete his practical training.

On 6 January 1951 he was ordained a priest by Bishop Stephen Ferrando at Shillong Cathedral fulfilling his long cherished dream. He was then appointed at Don Bosco Shillong as Prefect of Studies. In 1953 he was transferred to Bandel as Prefect of Studies of the aspirants.

On 21st June 1954, he received his Indian citizenship. He returned home for the first time only after 16 years. When he returned he was appointed Secretary to Bishop Marengo in Dibrugarh in the year 1955. In March 1955, he visited the Tangkhul area in Manipur in the company of Bishop Orestes Marengo. It was his first tour as a missionary. Their first trip was to Hundung, Choitar and Nungshong. In the 1956 tour they also visited south West Manipur and all its Zou, Monshan Lankan and Anal communities.

March 6, 1956 was a red-letter day in the history of Manipur mission. It was on the feast of St. Dominic Savio, that the first mission station in Imphal was opened (Nirmalabas). In August 1956, the land at Chingmeirong was bought. Maram Khullen was visited in May 1956.

In 1995 he was put in charge of the centre at Shajouba and he took up residence there till he fell sick on 18 May 2007. As he was not feeling too well he was taken to CMC Koirengi (Imphal) for treatment. He had suffered a minor stroke and in turn it had affected his memory power and eye sight. In order to get better medical care, in the month of July he was taken to Apollo hospital in Chennai. On the recommendation of the doctors he was taken back to Imphal to continue with medication and return to Chennai for re-check up after 3 months. He remained with the community of Don Bosco Chingmeirong who took good care of him. While staying at Don Bosco, Chingmeirong, he was going to CMC Hospital for regular check up. But as his health condition worsened he was readmitted to CMC hospital. His situation aggravated by 7 March 2008. On the morning of 8 March at 6 am he passed away due to a heart attack.

Fr. Bianchi was a hardworking and tenacious person to the core. He said, "Once an idea strikes me, I pursue it with all my soul. I do my very best to live up to the idea. "As a young man, he was very much attracted by the spirit of Don Bosco and his love for youth. He tried to live up to the ideals of Don Bosco; in his enthusiasm he demanded from others order and discipline just as he himself always abided by them. He immensely admired the great Salesian missionaries like Fr. Vendrame, Msgr. Marengo, and Fr. Ravalico, and made them his role models. He considered them as truly heroic souls whom he wanted to imitate to the full.

Wherever he went, his main effort was in the field of education and evangelization. He considered it as his top priority and in accordance with the command from the Lord Himself ("Go and teach"). He gave supreme importance to catechesis and faith formation wherever he went and took keen interest in sending young people for Catechist training.

Like a true son of Don Bosco, he was a true devotee of Mary Help of Christians, and saw many miracles through her intercession. He himself testifies that Mary was very much present in his life and works and at all times he experienced her motherly protection. It had been his special joy to spread devotion to Mary, especially in the recitation of the Rosary. During his critical illness at the Vellore Mission Hospital in 1984, all had given up hope. Dr. Pandey, the Hindu doctor himself who had seen him clinging to the Rosary, had remarked: "Only that can save him now." And indeed, it was the Rosary that saved him from that fatal illness!

Wherever he went, the people easily became friendly to him and easily accepted him. He always loved and esteemed people and went out of his way to help them in their need. He had a compassionate heart especially for the poor and the suffering. He always felt totally at home in the missions, even when there were innumerable difficulties. He always went ahead with determination and trust in God`s grace. He himself confessed that he had no regrets in life. He felt himself fulfilled that he had done something worthwhile with his life. He experienced the grace of God, the protection of our blessed Mother, and the inspiration of Don Bosco especially in moments of struggle and hardships. His advice to each one of us is: "Be single minded and determined in your resolve to be what you have decided to be. Don`t ever give up." He himself gathered strength from the Lord in the Eucharist and the personal prayer. He was also a true devotee of Our Blessed Mother. And these gave him the strength to carry on as a zealous missionary to the last breath of his life.

He always remembered the advice of Don Bosco: "Let nothing perturb you." And there was nothing to perturb him because he had the total conviction that he had committed his entire life IN HIS NAME. May He, THE LORD himself, give him his eternal reward. And may his soul rest in peace. "Death for the Salesian is made bright by the hope of entering into the joy of his Lord..." (Constitutions article 54).