On 5 December 2020, at dawn, a clumsy fire tried to disguise the murder of Brother Leonardo Grasso in the St. Camillus Tent of Rest, in the Province of Catania. This fire was started by Paolo, one of the guests of this centre which was strongly wished for by the Order of St. Camillus and managed by Brother Leonardo, the ‘original’ Camillian. Original because his was a vocation of his adult years: until fifty years ago he was a business agent in Catania; then his vocation was felt and he decided to leave everything and wear the enormous red cross on his chest which marks out the Ministers of the Sick. Brother Leonardo was seventy years old and had an innate predisposition to serve by interacting with lives.

Brother Leonardo has been placed amongst the twenty missionary martyrs of 2020 whom we will commemorate on 24 March next. Thanks go to the Missio Foundation and to the Italian bishops’ Conference.

Brother Leonardo has been placed amongst the twenty missionary martyrs of 2020 whom we will commemorate on 24 March next. Thanks go to the Missio Italia Foundation and the Italian Bishops’ Conference for producing this touching video of testimony.