hen he was chosen by Pope Paul VI to be Apostolic Administrator of the Prelacy of Abaetetuba, Brazil, the Xaverian missionary Angelo Frosi gave his prompt “Yes!” with the ardent desire of one who wants to live his vocation to the full.
He was then succeeding another Xaverian, Bishop John Gazza, who had been elected Superior General of the Xaverian Missionary Congregation, with residence in Italy.
The first Xaverian to be ordained in the United States in 1948, Fr. Frosi had served already for more than 20 years as Vocation Director and Rector of the Seminary in Holliston, MA, and as Regional Superior in Wayne, NJ, where he showed untiring zeal in ministry. But he was always looking forward to the day when he could “go to the missions. ” In his letters to the Xaverian Motherhouse in Parma, Italy, he often would say, “We work here but with our hearts in the missions.”
“Take good care of your homes, build a neighborhood of brothers and sisters, live all united!”
Bishop Dom Angelo Frosi
The first dozen years in the Amazon, where he arrived in 1968, Fr. Frosi sought inspiration from tradition: he placed his bet on the Christian formation of his people, knowing that only a faithful Christian is capable of living the Gospel beatitudes in the humility of everyday duties and even to sacrifice him/herself for the sake of the Reign of God. It was also during those years that he provided for the infrastructures necessary for the meetings of the communities and for catechesis and formation.
In the next 15 years, “Dom Angelo”, as he was popularly known, sought a deepening of that catechesis in its various and more mature aspects of communal, biblical, professional and vocational formation. The Christian people under his shepherding slowly began to understand more clearly its vocation as “People of God” (“Povo de Deus”). Above all, Dom Angelo, who from the very beginning was helped by many Xaverians, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, sought to foster the birth of a diocesan clergy. He soon established a Minor Seminary in Abaetetuba and a Major Seminary in the capital city of Belèm.
However, all this “organizational” work does not tell all the richness of Dom Angelo.
All those who knew him are unanimous in saying that he was a very caring person, with the gentle ways of one who is in love with God. He received everyone and each received words of hope. As someone said: “He listened to you, one person at a time. And many a time he’d help you just by listening. To be heard is to have hope.”
Dom Angelo was simple and unassuming giving each person time and attention, from the most humble to the most important.
Indeed, especially in the last 15 years as bishop of Abaetetuba, Dom Angelo made of his bishop’s motto “Faith and Charity” the summary of interior life. He was most often in the midst of the poor and marginalized, extending his hand to all, seeking to lift out of chronic poverty those most in need of a dwelling and human formation.
Dom Angelo gave his life to the poorest. His health suffered also because of the “excesses of goodness”, which not all understood, in favor of the dignity of the human person and of the family. Many still remember his refrains: “Take good care of your homes, build a neighborhood of brothers and sisters, live all united!”
In May 1995 Dom Angelo was attending the 33rd General Assembly of the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB), in the city of Sâo Paolo, when he suffered a severe heart attack, which took his life a few weeks later, far away from the people whose shepherd he had been for over 25 years. Today he rests in the Cathedral Church of Abaetetuba, in the midst of his people who daily continue to visit him full of gratitude. He lives in the memory of his flock: the example of his evangelic life continues to touch and mark the hearts of all in the diocese of Abaetetuba and of all who have known him.
On June 28th, a large crowd from all parishes and communities of the diocese took part in the Eucharist commemorating Dom Angelo Frosi on the 10th anniversary of his death. His successor, Dom Flavio Giovenale, said that Dom Angelo’s beatification process will soon get underway.
Dom Angelo’s life still presents itself as a model of the gospel beatitude of the humble peacemakers.
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)