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tHe lord Gave me

In 1907, at the age of twenty-five, Sergio married Emilia
Romani and life seemed to go well for them.

tHe lord Has taken aWay From me

Their first child was born and their joy was immense, but little
Mario died suddenly at only 16 days old. A series of illnesses and
deaths began that, in four years, he lost his father, mother, brother
and his second son Medardo, who was 2 years old. His wife, already
pregnant with Igina, was unable to accept the death of her second son
and died a few months after the birth of their daughter.
Sergio became attached to his young daughter and thought he
could live for her: «If this child survives, I won’t remarry and I’ll
make her study to be a teacher» . The pain was unbearable, but he
2
still did not doubt God’s love and so he went on, carrying in his
heart the words of Job: «The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord» (Job 1:21).

In all the pain he was going through, Sergio lost all hope in life
when, after a painful ear infection, little Igina also returned to the
Father’s house.

dark times

He, who had always placed his trust in God and His Providence,
now found himself disoriented, unable to nourish hope in the future.
Darkness overcame him for weeks, until his parish priest reminded BIOGRAPHY
him of the words of Saint Paul: «O man, who are you to reply against
God?» (Rm 9:20).

2 Romeo Panciroli, La roccia che disseta il deserto, Ed. Frate Francesco, Reggio Emilia 1983, p. 23.