Rosanna Tabasso

Rosanna Tabasso, originally from Pecetto, a small town on the Turin hills, is the first yes of the Sermig Fraternity. In the early years of the Sermig group, many boys and girls chose the path of consecration, but all left on a mission or embraced the life of a religious order consolidated in the ecclesiastical tradition.
 
Rosanna had come into contact with the group founded by Ernesto Olivero in 1972, when she was only 15 years old, and had immediately shown a strong determination, looking for an ideal for which to give herself totally. A few years later, he turned to Ernesto Olivero saying he wanted to consecrate himself to God, but to remain in the Sermig; Ernesto found himself unprepared and displaced in the face of such a request, also considering the fact that Sermig was a group of few people, of young foundation and without even a fixed seat. However, Rosanna's insistence convinced Ernesto to consider her request; he proposed to her to go to a monastery for two years to evaluate her vocation. We are in 1980 and she herself says:
 
 
At the end of those two years I did the spiritual exercises together with the sisters who hosted me. I had asked the Lord to give me a sign at the end of the exercises. The preacher of the exercises struck me in awe of his rigor [ed was Msgr. Giuseppe Pollano, later a great friend and teacher of the Sermig Fraternity]. And yet I said to myself: “It is with him that you must pass the sieve”. Then I was assailed by fear: "What do you do, Rosanna, if she says no, what do you do?". But I felt that the Lord would pass right through him. I went to the interview with my legs shaking. I told him about my project, the story of Sermig, then closed my eyes and prayed: “Lord, you speak”. He replied that what I felt was the call of the Spirit and I could follow him without fear. I left the room I was flying.
 
from "Rosanna ... the first yes told by Flaminia Morandi"
 
 
The definitive sign on this yes and on the nascent Sermig Fraternity was shortly thereafter the arrival of the Arsenal, on 2 August 1983. Over the years the Fraternity has grown and today includes dozens of consecrated men and women who live in the world, as well as numerous families and young people.

 

Ernesto Olivero writes about her:

"Who is Rosanna? I have no words to say. I could say that Rosanna is the pillar of the Arsenal fraternity. I could say that she is mother, sister, spiritual friend of all friends. I could say that this adventure began with his yes, when I myself didn't know what the Lord had in mind to do with us. I could say that she believed in this adventure when she was little more than a teenager, who obeyed and went into seclusion to see if her desire for consecration to God in Sermig was true. I could say that it supports like an oak, with strength and competence, everything we do. I could say that she supports me and supports us all with her intelligent, attentive, faithful and discreet presence and with a very sweet smile behind her glasses. I could say that every day she renews her abandonment to the Lord in the midst of fatigue, misunderstandings and difficulties, suffering for me and with me, because the antipathies and hatreds that I collect fall on her. But the lightning rod Rosanna is in direct communication with the Lord and there is no storm to make her waver. Yet I still wouldn't have said anything about Rosanna ».
 
from the book A long way to God
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Articles on the history of Sermig and the Fraternity:


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Reflections on the spiritual life:

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