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THE SON OF THE PAMPAS |
S
ALESIAN
CALENDAR
The two young people in the salesian calendar for August are Zeffirino Namuncurá and Domenico Zamberletti.
AN INDIAN AND AN ALTARBOY
by Pascual Chávez Villanueva
Zeffirino or Zefferino or Ceferino in Spanish, was the son of the “Lord of the Pampas”, the great cacique of the Araucani (Mapuche) Manuel Namuncurà, defeated and subdued by the Argentine army in 1883. One can learn a great deal from his short life.
He was born at Chimpay on 26 August 1886 and was baptised in ’88 by the Salesian missionary Fr Milanesio. It was he who had been the mediator in the peace treaty between the Araucani and the Argentine army, which led to the father of Ceferino being allowed to retain the title of “Great Cacique” and the territory of Chimpay for his people. At eleven years of age he was enrolled by his father in the government school in Buenos Aires. He wanted him to become the future defender of the Araucani. Zeffirino, however, was unhappy there and his father transferred him to the Pius IX Salesian College. Here began that story of grace that was to transform a heart not yet fully illumined by the faith into an heroic witness of Christian life. He immediately showed great interest in studies, he loved the practices of piety and took the religious lessons very seriously, and was well liked by companions and superiors. Two events launched him on the way to the heights: reading the life of Dominic Savio whom he immediately took as his model, and his First Communion, at which he pledged himself to absolute fidelity to his great friend Jesus. From then on, this boy, who found it difficult to “get into line” and “to obey the sound of the bell” became a model pupil.
One day, when Zefferino was an aspirant at Viedma, Francesco De Salvo seeing him galloping around on a colt asked him “Zeffirino, what would you like best? He expected him to say something about horse-riding, an art in which the Araucani were masters, but the boy, pulling the horse up, replied: “To become a priest,” and then rode off. But it was especially in these years of interior spiritual growth that his health began to fail. He became ill with tuberculosis. He was taken back to his native soil but that did not help, and Monsignor Cagliero decided to take him to Italy for better medical treatment. His presence there did not go unobserved: the newspapers spoke in glowing terms of the “Prince of the Pampas.” Don Rua invited him to eat with the General Council and Pius X received him in a private audience, listening with great interest to what he had to say and giving him one of his special medals ad principes. On 28 March he had to be admitted to the hospital of the St John of God Brothers on the Island in the Tiber where he died on 11 May 1905, leaving behind him the memory of goodness, diligence, purity and inimitable cheerfulness. He was a ripe fruit of salesian youth spirituality. His remains are now in the Sanctuary of Fortin Mercedes – Argentina, and his tomb is the goal of constant pilgrimages since the reputation for holiness he enjoys among his own people is so great. He was declared Venerable on 22 June 1972.
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1 THE SON OF THE MOUNTAINS |
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The Italian Salesian Bulletin for May 2003, on page 20, carried an article entitled “A Boy from other times,” referring to Domenichino Zamberletti. We reproduce some lines from it in the context of the strenna on youth holiness as the fruit of Don Bosco’s preventive system
He was born on Sacro Monte di Varese 24 August 1936, in the shadow of the famous Marian shrine, the last of three children. He had an intense love for his family which they returned with great affection, as the expression of an upbringing rich in human and Christian qualities. He had such a great love for prayer that on one occasion he remained so recollected that when a Sister shook him and asked: “Haven’t you finished praying yet, Dominic?” “Is it time to go?” he replied in surprise. “I didn’t notice the time passing.” He had a special gift for music. While still quite small he began practising the piano in the Sacro Monte hotel his father and mother kept and where he was born. At 9 he was the official organist in the sanctuary. One day his father told him that on feast days he should play something new for the congregation, but that during the elevation he should play without following the music, just as inspiration led him, in other words he should let the spirit play leaving room for whatever his heart suggested. He took the advice. And he must have produced exquiste melodies as on one occasion a lady enthralled by what she had heard asked him for the score. Dominic answered her gently: “I’m afraid I don’t have it. The music just comes to me from the heart…and I don’t remember a note.” Another of his special joys were the altar servers whom he looked after with great enthusiasm. His greatest desire perhaps was to have the gift of bilocation so that he might be able to play the organ and serve at the altar.
He had everything easy? Not at all. Dominic knew very well that what come easily doesn’t have much value: it’s like the things that are cheap, whereas precious things are costly, and how! To remain a good boy cost Dominic a lot: pampered by everyone, treated with respect by the waiters and servants – economically his family were well off being owners of the Sacro Monte Hotel - he could have lived like a lord, But not he! He was always ready to give a hand to the domestic servants though he was the proprietor’s son. Every day he took the milk float, then the tram to go down to school at the Salesian College in Varese. Intelligent, quick, curious, he was aware of the dangers that surrounded him, but with the guidance of his confessor, with prayer, mortification and the prompt and cheerful fulfilment of his duties he succeded where few others would have done.
In addition to his cheerfulness and even temper, what stood out was a deep interior life and his great charity towards the poor. A number of them came to the Zamberletti’s hotel, and Dominic had arranged for the kitchen to prepare an extra meal for the “hungry Christ.” This is the sort of youthful holiness of which there is urgent need, so as to give to the world, to society, a new Christian face that is so hoped for.
At the beginning of January 1949, the first symptoms appeared of the illness that was to put an end to his dreams. Pleurisy. He was to be bed-ridden until he died. He prayed and offered up his illness, which was inexorable. He bore great suffering until 29 May 1950, when before breathing his last he said to his mother who was beside him: “Mamma I’m fine, I’m going to heaven.” He was just 13 and 9 months. ▓
