The vocation and testimony of Giovanni, born in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on July 29, 1992, show how God acts in concrete ways, sowing signs, raising questions, and opening paths.

This young man is completing his Bachelor’s degree in Theology in Rome thanks to a grant from the CARF Foundation, which supports his education and that of his brothers in the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo, a community of missionary priests born within the Communion and Liberation movement.

Just a few days before his diaconal ordination, which took place on June 21, he shares his life journey with us.

A teenager who dreamed of being fair

My name is Giovanni Ferrari. I was born on July 29, 1992, in Reggio Emilia, a small town between Milan and Bologna. It’s a land of peasants, simple, hardworking people, but also welcoming and rich in values.

I was born into a Catholic family, where the faith was passed on to me by osmosis, through the many friends who always stopped by our house. In addition to an older sister, we received the gift of an adoptive sister from Nigeria, who enriched and broadened our family’s horizons.

As a child, I loved playing soccer, but I soon had to accept that I would never become a professional footballer. In return, I did well in school, and during my high school years, the desire to one day become a judge was born within me. I was drawn to the idea of ​​dedicating my life to an ideal of justice, an ideal that I often saw frustrated by reality. The many instances of injustice touched me deeply, and the profession of judge seemed like a concrete way to respond to them.

During high school, my first important friendships emerged, first at the parish and then at an organization that raised funds for missions in Latin America, where we did crafts in our free time.

Little by little, I realized that the friendships worth cultivating were those with whom I shared an ideal worth striving for. During those years, I decided to leave football to dedicate myself more to volunteering.

The missionary inspiration of Daniele Badiali

The example of Father Daniele Badiali, an Italian missionary priest who was murdered in Peru in 1997 after offering himself as a hostage in place of a missionary. Father Badiali served with simplicity and dedication among the poor of the diocese of Huari. He is considered a martyr for his witness of faith and radical love.

I learned her story as a teenager. The more I read her letters, the more I longed to live an intense and totally dedicated life like hers. Rather than a life cut short, it seemed like a life fulfilled.

Life went on, and I decided to enroll in law school to pursue my dream of becoming a judge. In my early years at university, I learned about the story of another priest who moved me deeply: Father Anton Luli, an Albanian Jesuit who spent much of his life in prison and forced labor under the communist regime.

He concluded his testimony by saying that the most valuable thing in his life had been his faithfulness to Christ. “I, who had everything, couldn’t be as free and happy as that man who had lost everything for the love of one person.”

Mission in Brazil and first call

That’s when I decided to spend four months in Brazil, on a diocesan mission, to see if this possibility of giving myself like that was for me or not. During those months, on a pilgrimage to a Marian shrine, I felt a strong impulse to leave everything and join the Jesuits, but that conviction lasted only three days. Upon returning from Brazil, I returned to university as if nothing had happened.

Shortly after, I met some new priests who had just arrived in my city. They were young, lived together, were friendly and intelligent, and it was a pleasure to be with them. They belonged to the Fraternity of St. Charles, a community of missionary priests linked to the charism of Communion and Liberation, the movement founded by Fr.  Luigi Giussani.

Thanks to a friend’s invitation to a drink with these priests, a friendship was born that gradually became all-encompassing. I would go to their house to dine, study, play games, watch movies… my life, like that of many friends, revolved around that priest’s house.

I felt that the Lord, through that encounter, was responding to all the desires I had experienced years before to surrender to Him. “Why do I feel so at home with them?” was the question I had inside, but I didn’t dare to ask it yet.

The death of a friend and the decisive question

The decisive moment came when a dear friend of mine died at the age of 24, after a year and a half of illness. His name was Christian, and he lived his illness with holiness.

One of these priests, shortly before his death, said in a homily that, through Christian’s life, God was asking each of us: “Do you want to give me your life? Do you want to give it to me for the whole world? Each of us, in our hearts, must prepare our answer.” I already knew what my answer was, but I still needed time.

Last stage in Law and final decision

After graduating, I worked for a couple of years in a law firm in Milan and attended the specialized school for legal professions, which qualified me to enter the magistracy competition.

But when everything was ready to present myself, I realized the time had come to take an important step: entering the seminary. I realized the desire to give up the dream of a career and starting a family, for the hope of a full life in the virtue of chastity, the priesthood, community life, and mission.

As Von Balthasar wrote, the intuition that “by leaving everything, I would finally gain everything” was too strong.

Entrance to the seminary and missionary vocation

“That’s how I decided to enter the seminary of the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo in 2018. On June 21, I was ordained a deacon and will soon be leaving on a mission.

Today I can only say that God has given me much more than I could have ever imagined, above all a fullness of meaning for my life.

I would like to thank the CARF Foundation and all the benefactors who collaborate with it for the valuable support received during these years of study and for their prayers.

These years at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross have been very formative. I have been able to appreciate the universality of the Church by meeting young people from all over the world and receiving excellent theological training.

For all this, I am deeply grateful for the help and the beautiful service you provide for the entire Church.”