Choose the good

Today I would like to recall a name: Alberto Marvelli, a young Italian who lived in the first half of the last century. Raised in the Gospel at home, trained in Catholic Action, he graduated in engineering and entered social life during the Second World War, which he firmly condemned. In Rimini and the surrounding area, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to helping the wounded, the sick, and the displaced. Many admired his selfless dedication, and after the war, he was elected councilor and placed in charge of the commission for housing and reconstruction. Thus he entered active political life, but while cycling to a rally, he was hit by a military truck. He was 28 years old. Alberto shows us that to hope is to participate, that serving the Kingdom of God brings joy even in the midst of great risks. The world becomes better if we lose a little security and tranquility to choose the good. This is participation. So said Leo XIV at the Jubilee Audience on Saturday, December 6, 2025, on the theme: To Hope Is to Participate. The Pope indicates how to embody the Jubilee title, "Pilgrims of Hope."

But who is Alberto Marvelli? Beyond the brief portrait of Pope Leo, we know that he was born on March 21, 1918, in Ferrara, and died in a tragic car accident in Rimini on October 5, 1946. A very short life, spent in a profound and concrete faith, humble and simple, never ostentatious.

Prayer and action, the Christian synthesis. Parish, Catholic Action, Catholic graduates, municipality: Alberto Marvelli explores all the stages of a young believer. He even became politically active in the Christian Democrats, at the invitation of Benigno Zaccagnini. All of Rimini is present at the funeral. How much good would that young man have done if he had lived longer?

Another immense crowd of three hundred thousand people gathered in Loreto on September 5, 2004, when John Paul II beatified Alberto Marvelli, calling him "a strong and free young man, a generous son of the Church of Rimini and of Catholic Action," who "conceived his entire short life as a gift of love to Jesus for the good of his brothers and sisters," demonstrating how, "in changing times and situations, lay Christians know how to dedicate themselves unreservedly to building the Kingdom of God in the family, at work, in culture, and in politics, bringing the Gospel to the heart of society." To hope is to participate. To participate is to hope.

Renzo Agasso
NP January 2026