BISHOP ANTONIO BAROSI
(NOVEMBER 23, 1901 - NOVEMBER 19, 1941)
With wide eyes, a small blond altar boy watches the solemn Mass being celebrated by Bishop Geremia Bonomelli. Absorbed in his thoughts, he follows the movements, of the great bishop of Cremona, dressed in the vestments reserved for great occasions. Who knows what passes through the mind of that young boy!
Antonio Barosi, born on November 23, 1901 in Solarolo Rainerio, having moved with his family to Cremona in 1912, often serves Mass at the cathedral and always remains fascinated by the priestly ministry.
He does not delay. In 1913 he enters the diocesan seminary, convinced that he will be a priest to serve his own diocese. But after his first year of high school, he hears the talks of Fr. Silvio Pasquali, a missionary in India, and he is drawn by this new figure who appears in his life.
Thus, on September 27, 1919, he decides to continue his priestly preparation in the Seminary for the Foreign Missions in Milan, soon to be followed by his friends Luigi Martinelli and Angelo Corbani, both of whom will become missionaries, the former in Bengal and the latter in India.
Finally, in 1925, he is ordained a priest and on October 5, he receives his mission cross from the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Eugenio Tosi. The next day he leaves for China.
Two months and eighteen days of travel, by the most disparate means. Leaving Genoa on a German ship, he arrives in Hong Kong at the end of October, then reaches Shanghai and from there, after four days on the Blue River, he arrives at Hankou. Finally from Hankou, after a day and a half by train and five days in a Chinese wagon, he is in Jingang, the center of his future mission.
"Two months and eighteen days of travel! How many villages I have passed through without ever seeing a cross! It's here that I want to give my life for the adventure of God's reign! These are the first words of young Fr. Antonio upon his arrival in China.
After two months of studying the Chinese language, still disoriented and inexperienced, he is sent to the district of Dengxian, as assistant to Fr. Massa. He is assigned to work with the students of the Catholic school; they will help him to learn Chinese quickly, since by now he can still barely stammer out a sentence or two.
Besides the difficulty of the language and the new environment. he must immediately face the harsh reality of Chinese communism. Indeed, he writes to the seminarians of Cremona in October of 1927:
"Last July the red army entered victoriously into our province of Henan; our vicariate was the first to be invaded, by more than thousand soldiers, without any order or rules. Our churches and houses were all occupied by soldiers, even the house in Dengxian, in which they left just two rooms for us: a month and five days of living with those brigands who did nothing but insult us and kept shouting, "death to the foreigners!
These soldiers, on the way to Zhumadian, went by train to Kaifeng, the capital of the province, which was besieged and occupied within a few days. The new regime has become famous everywhere. The Catholic Church is forbidden to have schools. In ours, the large rooms which were just completed were closed and requisitioned by the soldiers, who transformed them into barracks. The same is happening in other residences of the vicariate. Hurray for socialism! Propagandists have been sent from Kaifeng, speaking of the "sun of the future." As soon as they arrived, they began spreading their doctrine, much of which is against us, against our religion, and against the "slaves of foreigners" (the Chinese Christians). Since the new regime has taken over, we cannot go out without hearing insults, curses, and ridicule. Our ministry is greatly hampered, but we are all still at our posts, and we will stay here until they expel us or kill us. I don't deny that there is a lot of suffering. But I also don't deny that the Lord is always here to help and sustain us.
Let's hope that the Lord will grant us a little peace and tranquility in the midst of such confusion, so that we can do a little good - if nothing else, to support the Christians so that they will not have to abandon the faith they have come to.
It's difficult to say when this chaos will end: there are too many arrogant and selfish people. All of them say that they have come to save the homeland, while it is all too clear that they are really out to enrich themselves and win some fame. All of these bosses, however, agree on one point: Get the foreigners out of China."
After a year things seem to return to normal, but in the winter of 1928-29, a great famine strikes Henan:
"It hasn't rained for ten months; there was no harvest in the spring nor in the fall. Here in Dengxian, the rooms of the school are now abandoned by the communists, so Fr., Massa and I decided to open them up to the hungry. Considering our resources, we didn't want to accept more than thirty, but once the door is open, how do you close it again? Now we have more than a hundred. Our resources are depleted, and so we have placed the whole situation in the hands of Providence, and with this confidence we keep on working".
Fr. Barosi devotes himself to finding grain and is able to obtain a good quantity from the Catholic farmers. Thus, the 27-year-old Antonio begins to reveal his knack for organization and diplomacy. But it is precisely when diplomacy has no results that Fr. Barosi demonstrates the quality of his faith. On February 9, 1929, a large band of brigands arrives at Dengxian and inflicts cruel torture on the rich of the city, hoping to get large sums of money, all in the view of the fathers, who are threatened with the same treatment if they do not pay in cash. The following morning, with the approach of the regular army, the band seeks refuge in the mountains, taking with them three thousand hostages and the two missionaries, bound and forced to walk in the middle of excited horses. Frs. Massa and Barosi think that it is the end for them. Instead, during the general confusion of the violent battle between the brigands and the regular army, they manage to free themselves from their bonds and hide. After the battle, tired and fearful, they make their way among the dead bodies abandoned on the road and are able to escape. But it seems as if peace never comes for Fr. Barosi.
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"After being taken by the bandits, I remained in the district of Dengxian until the beginning of May when I had to return to Kaifeng, to the bishop's residence, because I had contracted smallpox during my last trip td the mission stations. After I got better, I had already prepared my three bags to return to my district when the bishop decided to change my assignment. I didn't want to accept such a delicate office, but in the end, trusting in the Lord, I obeyed. I've now been here for ten months. I need a lot of help from the Lord to carry this heavy cross."
In fact, he is named treasurer of Nanyang, the most important mission of the province. The Christians come to him with their questions, the catechists for books and teaching resources, the fathers for all the needs of their residences, schools, and churches. He must attend to the renters who cultivate the few plots of land owned by the mission, the builders, and craftsmen who work in one station or another. He has to think about the daily bread of the orphans and their education, the sisters who work in the kitchen, the storehouse, assistance to the refugees, the direction of the school for girls. He is also the treasurer of the seminary.
But all of this is not enough: he has to provide food and lodging for passing soldiers and fodder for their animals. To government agents who demand the payment of taxes and absurd customs charges, he must devise a way to pay as little as possible.
He is never overcome. He has no fear even in the face of the immense needs of the people, nor the chronic lack of funds; on the contrary, it seems that the difficulties just inspire him to try the impossible. Fr. Barosi has no sooner assumed his new position in the summer of 1929 than he plans the construction of a new school, in spite of the fact that the mission is facing significant financial problems and renewed persecution toward "all who smell of the Catholic Church." At this very time, which by human standards we would judge to be inopportune, he decides "to open in our main residence of Jingang, the only one not occupied by soldiers, a school which will welcome young people from the different districts who want to study. There was never a second thought, and without considering the difficulties, I devoted myself to starting this much needed school."
Everything, therefore, seems to be going fine, yet the situation is never easy. On January 18, 1931 Fr. Barosi writes to the seminarians of Cremona:
"For three years we have been living with nervous tension so great that, if not for the special grace of the Lord, we would certainly be worn out completely. Many of our brethren have been captured by brigands and many others have been killed. And unfortunately, the story is not over yet! We live day by day, trusting in the Lord; even here in Jingang we are surrounded by brigands; every night we watch in fear of sudden attacks, not to mention the oppression that the soldiers and the city bosses continually inflict upon us in subtle ways.
I tell you this not so that you might fear the missionary life, but so that you might know the conditions in which we are living and increase your prayers to the Eucharistic heart of Jesus for a little peace and tranquility in this poor country of China. Yet, in spite of all these struggles and trials, the Lord consoles us and blesses our work."
A man of many talents, he must continually take on new responsibilities. He seems tireless and the Pro-Vicar Apostolic2, Monsignor Pietro Massa, knowing his great abilities, gives him another office:
"Last year the bishop called me in and said to me, "Dear Father, I know that you are already very busy, but I need to ask a big favor of you: take over the position of local vicar3 in the three western sub-prefectures (an area about half the size of Lombardy [a province of northern Italy the size of West Virginia])." How could I say no? In fact, in these days I'm about to go by mule to visit my vicariate. Besides this little job, I'm also in charge of the construction of the cathedral in Nanyang city. As you can imagine, I have to be an engineer, architect, and laborer too. Here you become well versed in all fields. You might think: "How can you keep up with so many things?" You do what you can. Certainly not everything will be done perfectly. Think of what we could do if there were a few more priests! The day begins at 4:00 in the morning and ends at 10:00 at night. And I'm not even mentioning the excursions and trips that have to be done."
It is not only his bishop who asks "favors" of him. In the summer of 1938 the refugees of the villages flooded out by the Yellow River, which has been dammed by the Japanese (or the Chinese?) for strategic reasons, number in the thousands. They ask for food and lodging, health and social assistance. The Japanese advance continues unabated. The wounded are beyond counting, and it is impossible to help everyone; commerce has stopped; prices for basic food staples have gone sky high. The mandarin of the city, overwhelmed by the emergency, requests help from the missionaries, asking them to start a course for nurses, who will be able to help those returning to the front.
Fr. Barosi rises with his usual enthusiasm to the new challenge. He institutes and directs a chapter of the Red Cross and forms a corps of volunteers to carry the wounded and take care of the injured, housing them in the mission residence and nearby fields. It doesn't matter who they are: he tries to help as many as possible.
"How many homeless refugees, how many wounded by war or air raids, have found refuge, assistance, and comfort in the Catholic Church! To speak only of our city of Nanyang, in the three dispensaries which we have opened, more than three hundred refugees and wounded are helped every day. During the more than twenty aerial bombings of the city, our first-aid ambulance, staffed by the Canossian Sisters and two or three of the missionaries, is well known for the courage of its workers, who are ready for any sacrifice. All those wounded in the air raids have been taken care of at the expense of the mission."
The bishop's residence at Jingang, a totally Christian town about six kilometers from Nanyang, is a safe refuge for all the important men of the city; even those who hate us, who never lost a chance to hamper our work, now come to ask for help. What a great occasion to make friends: we put our houses at their disposal and everyone is welcome.
The spirit of obedience urges Fr. Barosi to accept still more and greater responsibilities. In 1939, the new bishop Pietro Massa, his first pastor in China, knowing full well that his old assistant in Dengxian has broad shoulders, names him the Pro-Vicar Apostolic. Fr. Antonio begins to substitute for the bishop when he is away, taking care of correspondence with Rome and Milan, handling relations with the authorities, watching over the seminary, the pastoral activities, and the orphanage.
But the situation is becoming more dramatic and grueling: "The terrible trials which are inflicted upon China in these days," he writes, "surpass any previous ones!"
"Sometimes I'm tempted to retreat to the quiet of a monastery to think only about the health of my soul. .. But the apostolate to which we are consecrated and the tasks we have accepted from our Lord immediately call me back to the complete fulfillment of duty, in spite of any difficulty and suffering... I really need your prayers, because in August of last year I was asked by the bishop to take on the delicate position of Pro-Vicar General. I would have just as soon refused, but I had to obey. I feel the weight of the heavy responsibility, especially in these days of such sadness. It's difficult enough to take care of oneself, imagine the task of directing others. Pray for me a lot, so the Lord will provide that which I lack in carrying out my duty for the good of the missionaries and Christians entrusted to my care."
And still it is not enough.
Fr. Barosi is given even more responsibility in a larger field of work. After 45 years of mission, Bishop Giuseppe Tacconi, Apostolic Vicari of eastern Henan, asks the Holy See that the vicariate he founded in 1916 be entrusted to one younger than he. Rome, accepting the request in the spring of 1940, names Fr. Antonio Barosi as apostolic administrator of Kaifeng, capital of Henan and headquarters of the missions, waiting for better times before electing a permanent bishop. Once more, Fr. Antonio obeys.
However, because of difficulties in travel, Bishop Barosi is not able to reach his new area right away. To get to Kaifeng, he must cross the vast bed of the Yellow River and pass through areas which are occupied by the Japanese and those controlled by the Chinese. In fact, this vicariate is divided in two by the river and by the war front. To pass from one part to the other is not only difficult and dangerous, but nearly impossible. Only after two months, due to the efforts of Fr. Vitale, who is well known by the military and civil authorities of both sides, can Barosi begin the journey that will take him to his new destination.
"From Nanyang, my previous vicariate, to Kaifeng, it took twenty days of travel (in peace time it takes only two), using all available means of transportation and facing more than a few dangers, because I had to pass through the Sino-Japanese front. The Lord was with me and I arrived safely.
As soon as I arrived in my new vicariate, I had to go more than 50 kilometers by boat, because after breaking through the dikes, the Yellow River had flooded the lowlands in an area 50 kilometers wide and more than 200 kilometers long. Desolation and ruin follow the path of these waters, which flow without any banks through vast areas, submerging fertile fields, destroying villages, hamlets, and cities for hundreds of kilometers, leaving thousands and thousands of poor families in their wake. Many of our most promising Christian communities have been destroyed or dispersed. Eight mission districts are completely or partially under water.
What has really comforted and edified me as I pass through the flooded districts is the spirit of sacrifice of the missionaries entrusted with the care of those territories. In spite of the disaster brought about by the flood, everyone of them has remained at his post. With the little money they have been able to receive from benefactors and the International Red Cross, they've truly performed miracles in giving aid amidst such misery. Thus, many people have been saved, who most certainly would have died of exposure and hunger without their help."
His first duty is to visit all the districts under his jurisdiction, to get a complete picture of the Christian communities there, to encourage and console them, and when necessary to reorganize them.
In November of 1941, only the district of Dingcunji remains to be visited. It is located to the south of the city of Luyi, and is almost completely submerged by the waters of the Yellow River which, because of the heavy summer rains, has changed its course and formed a deep, briny lake a few kilometers in area.
The Japanese have pushed forward to Dingcunji three times, but always retreated; the Chinese soldiers have been able to establish complete control of the territory. With good reason, Dingcunji is considered a "no man's land" because in the absence of any central authority, it is continually at the mercy of a wide variety of occupying forces, who rule according to their own will. Since it is a territory bounded by two provinces, when the brigands supported by the communists make raids in the province of Henan, they pass through from their camps in Anhui, and vice versa.
Bishop Barosi fears the hidden dangers of this district, so much so that his visit almost becomes an obsession of dark foreboding. Yet, for the same reasons, he cannot remain safely ensconced in the security of the central house, located in an area controlled by the Japanese, when he knows that his missionaries are exposed to all kinds of threats and dangers.
Thus, on November 10 he leaves by train from Kaifeng, and on November 17, he reaches the Japanese-controlled city of Luyi, where Fr. Zanardi lives. On the morning of November 18, he and Fr. Zanardi leave the city. Before arriving at their destination, they meet up with Fr. Zanella who accompanies them to Dingcunji; they arrive at 4:00 in the afternoon.
The welcome of the people is festive. The presence of the bishop in this moment of crisis provides a great occasion for hope. But joy and happiness always seem destined to last a very short time in China, a country which, at least in these days, seems almost devoid of hope.?
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