Bernardi: Salesian missionary par excellence

By C. M. Paul, SDB

Fr. Anthony Bernardi of Krishnagar Cathedral was found dead in his room. He was 88 years old.

On Friday 16th April morning Fr. Bernardi failed to turn up for the early morning mass at the chapel of the exposition in the Cathedral. Sisters of Mary Immaculate went to look for him, but there was no response from his room. Opening the door, which he always left unlocked, they entered the room only to find him lying dead in a pool of blood. From the condition of the body it was ascertained that he must have died around 10.00 p.m. on 15th April.

Making of a missionary
He was born at Poggiana di Riese in Italy on 17 September 1910, the eldest of seven children. Three of his sisters, two of whom are nuns, and a  brother are still alive. He became a Salesian on 11 September 1929 and was ordained in Turin on 2 July 1939. Soon after his ordination he came to India.

After a brief stay in Sonada (Darjeeling) to learn English, which he never mastered, he was assigned to Krishnagar diocese. The first ten years of his ministry were spent in Simulia and Borborpara in present day
Bangladesh for a short while, and then at Ranabondo, from where he looked after Maliapota as well. When he became very sick and there was little hope that he would survive, he was brought to the Cathedral parish in Krishnagar.  He recovered and remained there nearly fifty years.

Unbeatable Missionary Record
"Though he lived a quiet and unassuming life," says Fr. Francis Alencherry his provincial, "Fr. Bernardi has set a few records which, probably will never be broken by anyone."

"Firstly, he never returned to his native Italy once he reached India. It is said that he had made a vow never to go back to the land of his birth. In spite of being offered several chances and being tempted and coaxed by all those who mattered, he never broke his vow. Even when his mother was dying he did not yield to the "temptation".

"Secondly, he spent all his years in India in one particular ambience. The nearly fifty years he spent in the Cathedral parish will be the longest that any Salesian will have spent in a particular house in the history of
Calcutta province, if not of the whole of Salesian India."

"Thirdly, he is unique because he learned only Bengali besides his own native Italian. He could understand a little English. His proficiency in Bengali was a significant indication of his identification with the people
for whom he worked. He achieved this before all the discussions on inculturation ever began!"

Fourthly, he spent fifty and more years in supportive pastoral roles without the least dissatisfaction or complaint. He learnt to adjust to the styles of functioning of different superiors, while living his religious life with conviction and dedication.

"This last I consider," his provincial comments, "as the most remarkable achievement of Fr. Bernardi. Humanly speaking, and considering present day trends, I doubt whether the records he has set will ever be broken by anyone."

Setting Trend in Liturgical Music
By his own admission, Bishop L. R. Morrow wanted Fr. Bernardi at the Cathedral to look after the church music and to see to the decorum of the liturgical functions. Fr. Bernardi was noted for his Sunday afternoon
instructions and ministry at the confessional.  When Bishop Morrow was giving a definite shape and sure foundation to the congregation of the Catechist Sisters of Mary Immaculate, Help of Christians (SMI), Fr. Bernardi gave a big helping hand by instructing the sisters and training them in liturgical music.

Model in supportive ministry
"In a world of glamour and the thirst for power and fame," Fr. Alencherry notes, "when a humble and simple religious like Fr. Bernardi passes away, after spending long years in peace and serenity by merely being of service to others in a hidden way, we cannot but bow our heads in admiration and gratitude.