16/01/2017
Another magnificent Testimony on Father Angelo d'Agostino ..... Thank you.
.... I first met father D'Agostino in 1975. He was one of the founders of the National Italian American Foundation and I was one of its first board members. Over the years we met on a number of occasions. He was always a dynamic and enjoyable companion as well as one who radiated kindness and decency. At one point he asked me to join the board of a local chapter of a su***de prevention organization he had established which originally been founded in the UK. I don't recall the year; probably in the early 80's. But it marks the time, I came to realize, that once you got into Father D'Ag's orbit you never got out. And so it was that when, in 1992 he established Nyumbani and asked me to join that board, I agreed; I served as President for 3 years and continue to serve on the board. I am grateful to him for providing me with the opportunity to participate in saving lives, which is what Nyumbani does.
So why do I see him as saintly? First, I think of what he gave up to become a Jesuit priest: a military medical officer's comfortable life. But many others have done that. I reflect on his serious health problem--lupus-- which occurred while he was studying to become a Jesuit, and his decision to nevertheless continue his studies. But my guess is that this also was the choice of others. What I find unique is that his life was saved by a miracle drug called prednisone (he was one of the first to receive this treatment) which then made it possible for him to become the savior of hundreds, if not thousands, of children. Why was he chosen to be to be among the first to be saved? Is it possible that God understood what Father D'Ag's choices would ultimately mean for the victims of the HIV/AIDS plague?
What brought him to this saintly work in Kenya? What was his spiritual journey? He had a successful priestly and professional life in Washington, D.C., well known, liked, and admired by many important people. Yet, as he told me, his Jesuit hero was Father Matteo Ricci who was credited with opening China; and, that following Mao's death, he became aware of rumors that China was going to open once again to missionaries and volunteered to be one of them. Well, it turned out the rumors were wrong. He told me that he was informed by his Jesuit superiors that he couldn't pick and choose his assignments, and since he had volunteered to go and serve abroad, the were sending him to serve as Medical Director of are refugee camp in Thailand run by US Catholic Relief Services. Off he went. When he got there, he found abortions being performed to which he raised objections. He was then ordered to leave the camp, was put up in an apartment in Bangkok in a building housing a disreputable operation, along with another priest, and told to await further orders. He was clearly underrated by the Bishop then leading the CRS, because after he got in touch with some of his important friends in Washington, DC, and filled them in on the situation, the Bishop was removed. Father D'Ag returned to the camp and completed his work. On his way back to the U, he stopped in Rome and met with his superiors. He was asked to delay his return and instead go to East Africa and set up Jesuit Relief Service. He agreed and asked whom he should see there. The answer: there is no one to see; just go and do it. And so he did.
He came back to the US for a visit and I saw him for lunch for the first time in a while. It was then that he told me, "I have come to believe in prayer". Needless to say I was stunned: "What do you mean?" I asked. "How long have you been a priest?" He responded, "Yeah, yeah. I know we should pray but this is the first time I found out it really works. You know, my truck broke down and I prayed for a new one, and someone donated one. This has been happening". I guess we could ask: how much of the life saving work he did was successful because he prayed for God's help and God answered his prayers?
After finishing his work in East Africa he returned to the US to his previous, much more comfortable, life. But Africa had captured him; he had to return. It was then off to Kenya to build a retreat facility for religious. And next, while after settling in Kenya and volunteering in one of Nairobi's hospitals, babies were left on the steps of the hospital: HIV/AIDS. When the hospital concluded it could not care for the growing number, Father D'Ag rented an apartment to care for them; it was basically hospice care as the medications that could extend their lives were unavailable. When the apartment proved too small for the numbers that he was caring for, he raised funds, bought some land, and created Nyumbani. Soon, a hundred children were being cared for, but still dying. At some point, at the Vatican, he denounced drug companies for pricing medications so high that he could not save the children's lives. He denounced them in the strongest terms; did so in the US as well. Finally, he got access to drugs that could, and did, help him save the lives of many, many children.
He then expanded the program into the terrible slums of Nairobi where the effort not only helped the children but also their families, providing a range of service beyond medication, including counseling. That program has served thousands upon thousands of poverty stricken and diseased Kenyans; it has been life-affirming.
And when his children were denied access to Kenyan public schools because of HIV/AIDS, he sued the Kenyan government and won access for all children throughout the country who were innocent victims of this tragic disease
Next were his efforts to realize fulfillment of a vision about a different set of "orphans": grandparents. What does that mean? In Kenya, without a safety net, elderly parents are cared for by their children. But millions of those children had died, leaving the young orphans that Father D'Ag's efforts were geared toward. What to do about the grandparent "orphans"? He decided that a village should be created in which the grandparents and grandchildren would live. It would be a rural village, and in it the grandparents would teach the grandchildren how to farm; schools would be built and vocational training would be provided so that the children could become self-sufficient. The village would become self-sustaining over time. But how would all this happen? First, land was needed. He persuaded a Bishop in Southeast Kenya to donate the land. But, as happens in many past colonial areas, title to the land was not clear. That did not stop Father D'Ag. He pressed ahead. But even before the matter was finally cleared up, he decided to begin the work to build the village, trusting in prayer, as he had come to do, to make sure all came out right. And it did.
This was a very difficult job as the land was very arid. Yet, again, trusting in prayer, that problem too was resolved. How? One day a volunteer who had heard of him from another priest turned up, and it happened that he had knowledge of water systems. A coincidence? Or evidence of God answering Father D'Ag's prayers? Too coincidental for me. I believe it was God's intervention.
While he was doing all this in Africa, he was busy with his friends in Washington D.C. There, with the help of the Nyumbani board he organized, he won millions of dollars in help from the U.S. government for his life-saving efforts. And in other countries, help began to flow: from supporters in the UK, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Ireland, Spain and others. Today there are supportive Nyumbani boards not only in the US, but in the UK, Italy, Spain and Ireland. This is the result of the holiness of one man and so many he inspired.
Well, I am convinced that this remarkable man is a saint. Thousands today are alive who would have been dead, but for him. Support has spread into many countries. And his work continues, carried on by those whom he has inspired. This process needs evidence of miracles? Well, thousands of miracles are alive today because of this saintly man's belief that God would answer his prayers. And God did.
Benjamin L. Palumbo
