OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SALESIAN MISSIONARY ANIMATION OFFICE (FIN)
ISSUE NO. # 12 – VOLUME 2 DECEMBER 2009
FR. MIGUEL SOLAROLI, SDB
(September 29, 1927– November 19, 2009)
To his brother Salesians: “Be with the boys, and be more attentive to them.”.
To his beloved Alumni “Do the same with your family. Discipline them but at the same time educate
them by the example of your presence.”
The following excerpts is lifted from the book of Fr. Remo Bati SDB “Passing On His Brilliance – Salesian
Pioneers in the Philippines 1951 – 1963”. Fr. Miguel is one among the many Salesian Pioneers who worked in the
Philippine Province bringing it to a status where it lofty stands right now. We salute our Salesian Pioneers of whom
some passed away already and some are bedridden. We pray that through their dedication and love for the “Da
Mihi Animas Coetera Tolle” of Don Bosco, we keep alive the Salesian Charismatic Identity in our hearts.
___________
My message to
the young:
“Never loose
heart and hope
even in the
most difficult
moments.
The Lord will
always offer a
happy solution.”
____________
I am Ercole Michele Solaroli y Zanetti, 80 years old, and a Confessor at
present at Don Bosco Mandaluyong. The eldest of the eleven children of two
different mothers, my mother died at childbirth when I was two years old, so I do not
even remember her. My father remarried and had ten children. The family was
rather poor. My father was a tailor at Faenza. He specialized in clergy attire.
Unfortunately, in the 1930’s the job situation became very difficult and we were not
always sure of our daily meals.
The Don Bosco College of Faenza helped us by passing the leftover bread
of each boarder. In this way, providence allowed us to eat every day.
We frequented the public school for our elementary schooling and I entered
Don Bosco School at the beginning of high school together with my brothers. We
frequented the oratory every Sunday where my father was a very active catechist,
teaching every Sunday afternoon. He was also a good actor in comedies and
drama. These weekly contacts with the Salesians inspired me to enter the
Congregation. This inspiration was fostered by my friendship with Msgr. Vincenzo
Cimmati and Fr. Ragazzini, then Provincial of Central America. From Faenza I was
sent to the missionary seminary at Ivrea where I continued my high school until I
graduated in 1943.
A letter from the superior asked me to be a missionary in China, so I arrived
there on December 1947. Shanghai was my first assignment and then Hong Kong.
From Hong Kong I was sent to India in Shillong, where I was ordained priest by
Bishop Fernando on July 25, 1954. From India, I was assigned to Mandaluyong in
1955. There I was in-charge of the DBYC, then as principal of the school. In 1970,
we started Tondo, amidst the problems of the land and squatters. I stayed in Tondo
for nine years. It was Tondo that offered me the most cherished moments of my life
as a Salesian including the unexpected visit of Pope Paul VI.
