LIDA TOSCANO ZANFRETTA (benefactor)
BORN: at Garzigliana, Turin 21.2.1919
DIED: at Cavour, Turin 27.12.2008
AGE: 89 years
Saturday Dec 27, 2008 at 7.45pm, Lidia Toscano died in the Cavour Hospes Hospital. She was 89, having been born on Feb 21, 1919. She married doctor Pietro Zanfretta. After the war she went to live in Verona in Vicolo Chiodo 8. Subsequently they went to Rivoli Veronese in Canale Locality where they had some properties: house and vineyard which they sold after the death of their daughter Susy. They donated all their possessions to the Stigmatine Missions in memory of their daughter, and they decided to go and live in Garziliana, Turin in 1987, where they stayed until their death.
In 1995 the brother Giuseppe died. He had visited our missions, on their behalf, and inaugurated various works which were made by their own initiative. Doctor Pietro Zanfretta died in 1997, followed by his wife Lidia.
Several times she had to be brought to Pinerolo Hospital where she underwent heart surgery and was given a pacemaker and finally she retired in a Hospice at Cavour.
While in the Cavour parish helping Fr Mario for the Christmas ministry, I used to visit her every day. When I wished her the Christmas greetings she answered “Thank you: greetings to you too”.
Now Mrs. Lidia is in paradise, where she must have met with Fr Adolfo Viero, who, during a series of missionary preaching, promised her to accompany her to know the Stigmatine missions and Fr Pietro Marchesini who realized so many charitable works in the missions, thanks to their contributions, which reached also the Fiji islands, where the Marists missionaries built a seminary. This was to fulfill the desire of their daughter Susy: to help the missions in the five continents! She wanted to become a missionary, but she died at 21 after a long illness.
Here are the main works realized in the Stigmatine missions:
1. In Brazil: the hospital of Barra da Estiva, the seminary of the diocese of Caiteté.
2. In Chile the seminary of Santiago.
3. In South Africa the seminary of Wildwoods in Pretoria.
4. In Asia: the seminary of Sampran (Bangkok, Thailand) – a truly great and necessary work. At Trang (Thailand) a beautiful church constructed in the shape of two hands joined in prayer. At Phuket (Thailand) a great contribution for our schools. In the Philippines the Carmona Seminary.
We remember her with gratitude to the Lord for all that she did for us and for the good of the poor of all the world. Her funeral was celebrated Tuesday 30th Dec at 10am at Garzigliana.
Mrs. Lidia died on the same day of December as her daughter Susy.
Fr Gino Zantedeschi.
