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 Father Lorenzo Milani Scott 1658 (2017) Father Lorenzo Milani, born on May 27, 1923 in Florence, was an Italian priest and educator. Vatican City issued a stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of his death in 2017. The stamp contains the statement On a wall of our school they have written large I CARE. Milani's parents were staunch secularists, believing in a strict division of church and state. In 1943, Milani converted from agnosticism to Catholicism, and in 1947 was ordained a priest. His personal philosophies developed during this time, as he became sympathetic to the poor and and spoke out against society's complacency towards the economically disadvantaged. In Calenzano, he established his first school of the people, which served the children of both believing and non-believing families. This radical concept was denounced in conservative Catholic circles. In 1954, Milani was sent (some would say exiled) to Barbiana, a small village in northern Tuscany. Here he continued his educational activities despite both clerical and lay opposition. His writings and philosophy were considered radical. His first book, Pastoral Experiences was removed from circulation on the orders of the Holy Office. His Letter to Military Chaplains advocated conscientious objection (the right to say No). Working with his students, he produced Letter to a Teacher, which denounced the inequalities of a class-based educational system that favored the children of the rich over those of the poor. The book served as indictment on the Italian system of education and Italian society in general. In 1967, shortly after the publication of Letter to a Teacher, Milani died in Florence of leukemia. In June of 2017, Pope Francis visited Barbiana and paid tribute to Father Milani, stating that Milani followed unique paths, sometimes too advanced and therefore difficult to understand to promote social equality. He characterized Milani as a believer in the love with the Church...and a passionate educator whose vision of teaching responded to the needs of the hearts and intelligence of our young people. References: UFN, September 7, 2017, 50th Anniversary of the Death of Don Lorenzo Milani Wikipedia, Lorenzo Milani |
