Always in the saddle

A sensational news: Gino Bartali could become "blessed", the antechamber of holiness, given that the procedure started already in 2018.
The great cycling champion carried false documents for Jews during the war to escape the Nazis. He used the barrel and frame of the bicycle, and took advantage of the training to bypass the controls of the German soldiers. Interviewed hundreds of times, Gino never revealed this secret, “because good is done but not said”, a topic that could weigh heavily in the Church's documentation. In addition, he wrote nearly 200 letters to his wife Adriana, rediscovered, and an expression of deep devotion. This happened from the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. On stage days, a postcard was enough. In those of rest, he had time for a letter. A habit: always signing Yours in the Lord, sign of a faith, which he also manifested in writing. The niece Gioia says: "Becoming blessed or holy would not serve to memory him, but to all of us, to our community, to families".

Attilio Nostro, bishop of Mileto in Calabria, dedicated an oratory to Bartali in Monte Mario, north of Rome. It was he who announced a promise from Pope Francis. It is a pilgrimage, which will start from that place, and will reach San Pietro, touching the Campidoglio, the Quirinale, and the synagogue.
The beatification process has a very long and articulated path.
Meanwhile, some nuns from Florence have transcribed the letters sent to their spouse.
Covid has slowed down the collection of testimonies, but it is time to restart.

Norma Gimondi, the daughter of the great Felice, says that her father shared Bartali's motto: "If sport is not solidarity and school of life, it is useless".
Another element, which helps to fully understand the spirit of the champion.
A champion of Christianity, eternally riding a bicycle.

Carlo Nesti
www.carlonesti.it
NP December 2021