Carlo Torriani

SWARGA DWAR

The conversion of a catholic missionary

presented by

Card. Simon Pimenta

PIME Publications, PIME Regional House, Eluru - 534 0-07, A.P., India

MY MOTHER’S DEATH

     Letter No. 56, March 2000

Dear Friends,

                    This circular will have not only one topic but many.

First of all I would like to thank all those who shared the sorrow for the death of my mother. She was in her 91 year of life and I am grateful to God for keeping her with us for so many years, for granting her a natural death, just when she was sleeping in her bed, without any specific or painful disease.

    I went to search her last writing to me. It was in 1996. Just two lines. “ Dear Carlo, I always think about you and I wish you all the best, your mummy”.

    I am happy I had the chance to see her in January and happy I gave her the occasion to see all the relations in a get-together we had at Villa Grugana for my send-off. We had a photo of all of us in group. That photo is now in my computer and appears every time I switch it on.

    In January for the fifth year now,  AIFO (Amici di R. Follereau) call me to Italy for their anti-leprosy campaign. This year, being the Jubilee Year, we started in Rome with a seminar in the Vatican. Afterwards the ten Witnesses were sent around in Italy. I was sent to Imperia, Rossano Calabro and Vedano al Lambro.

    In Lok Seva Sangam the work of leprosy control and assistance to the children of leprosy patients in the balwadis and through the sponsorship scheme is continuing. Also the work of rehabilitation in Swarga Dwar is going on. I live in SD, Taloja, but twice a week I come to Lok Seva Sangam in Mumbai.

In SD at present we are 34. Every year a score of new patients come and others go, rehabilitated or in search of better chances. This year a farmer of our village, Rohinjan, has come to produce vegetables in our fields. So this year we had a good production of tomatoes, eggplants, onions, garlic and pumpkins. Every year we produce also around 40 quintals of rice. We like to show our successes because we would like to be self sufficient. The leprosy patients should feel the pride to say that we produce the food that we eat, at least. But the maintenance expenditure is always bigger than the income from sale. This year also we had some extra expenditure for buying a tractor with trailer. This had been financed by AIFO.

For those who had been in SD: Iqbal, in the month of January, is gone for some plastic surgery to one hand to make it more functional to the use of computer mouse.

More and more often the spiritual aspect of our ashram is quoted as an example of inter-religious dialogue. Fifty four people left their name, this year, in our Visitor’s Book. Also parish groups come for a visit. In December, about sixty senior persons of Everard Nagar, where there is the office of Lok Seva Sangam, came to entertain our inmates. When the Pope came to India, in November, to publish the document of the Synod of Bishops for Asia, Ecclesia in Asia,  RAITV, the Italian State television showed our ecumenical chapel with the symbols of all religions.

Also the book of Fr. Torriani is having a second edition in Italian.

Greetings to all those who had been in SD, to all those who are sponsoring a child, to all those who came to know about us through the media. We all here pray for you.