Arsenale desire for God and men

Every important moment in our lives is accompanied by words that endure: words of people close to us, encounters marked by words. And then, in an authentic journey of faith, there is always the Word of God. The words of men and the Word of God are constant elements and walk together because the history of salvation always progresses within human history, despite all its limitations.

The Arsenale della Pace is the fruit of a synergy with God, begun with the encounter with Giorgio La Pira and his words. At the time, he was mayor of Florence, but above all, he was a man of God, a prophet of peace, a friend of the poor. He introduced us to the biblical prophecy of Isaiah: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares" (Isaiah 2:4). Ernesto and we felt that the Lord would direct us to live this Word. From that encounter and from that Word, the search for the Arsenal of Peace began. The Word of Isaiah has remained a fixed point in our history, a Word that has come true, but not before other words that have accompanied difficulties and hopes. Many people supported this dream, many expressed disbelief, some even disapproval... But there was always a Word that pushed us forward, legitimizing our hope.

The Angel's Word to Mary: "Hail, Mary, the Lord is with you..." repeated countless times in the prayer of the Rosary accompanied us in our awaiting of that promise. We prayed every day around the Arsenal that what the Angel had announced might come true: "Nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

Years had passed since the City of Turin's commitment to grant us a portion of the former Military Arsenal on loan for use. In July 1983, the first municipal resolution was about to be approved. The resolution, which, having acquired the arsenal from the State Property Agency, was to assign a portion of its surface to the Cottolengo and a building to us. Instead, a brother from the Cottolengo, who loved us very much, informed us that we had been excluded. An obstacle that put an end to our hopes. We asked ourselves in prayer: what are you telling us, Lord? Do you, Lord, want this project? Is it yours? If it is yours, carry it forward; otherwise, stop us here. Then we opened the Bible with the faith of children, and once again the prophet Isaiah gave us courage: "I say to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited,' and to the cities of Judah, 'You shall be rebuilt,' and I will restore their ruins" (Isaiah 44:24ff). With this Word in our hearts, we could dare to insist that the mayor immediately grant us a portion of the Arsenal. Ernesto spent hours on the phone with him, trying to convince us that another resolution would be passed. But behind his words we read an attempt to persuade us to stop, as if he were saying: you are too weak and few in number, with too little money to undertake such a project. Finally, he agreed to add a handwritten addition to the resolution already printed and ready for approval.

A few days later, on August 2, 1983, we entered the arsenal. Ernesto, Maria, and I were six of us. We had with us the words of some non-believing friends who had faith in the Arsenale della Pace project. In particular, we had the books of a dear friend, a former partisan who could not accompany us because she was ill, a woman of integrity who represented the world of good will. We also wanted to have the words of the Church where we were born and where we wanted to live. We thought of the episcopal vicar, who knew us well even though he was unavailable. We called him in the morning and the appointment was for the afternoon. We didn't have much hope, but that day he responded immediately and agreed to accompany us. In the muffled silence of ancient dust and abandonment, the vicar let the words of Psalm 122 resound: "I rejoiced when they said to me, 'We will go to the house of the Lord!'" The words of this psalm have always accompanied us. We believed this was a work of God, and we are here as in a Jerusalem, asking for peace for our people, for our friends, for all humanity. A Word that endures forever.


Rosanna Tabasso
NP March 2025