In Brazil since 2008, Don Giuseppe Spiga became a bishop where he chose to stay: between the peripheries of the world and those of the Church . No golden chair, no grand debut. Monsignor Giuseppe Luigi Spiga became a bishop in the way that most resembles him: in a poor diocese in the Brazilian northeast, where the Church often lives on essentials and the mission is a daily condition.

His episcopal ordination took place in Grajaú, in the state of Maranhão, and was presided over by Cardinal Arrigo Miglio , who wanted to celebrate in Portuguese, the language of the land that has welcomed the Sardinian priest for years.

Accompanied by a delegation from Serramanna and the diocese of Cagliari, Spiga reiterated, even before officially starting his new assignment, his line: «I will not be a desk bishop». In reality, he has never been one.

Born in 1968, with a theological education and years of commitment in the parishes of Donori and Barrali, Don Giuseppe has gone through different areas of diocesan life : from training in seminaries to social action as director of the Pastoral of Work. Then, in 2008, the radical choice: to leave as a fidei donum for Brazil, destination diocese of Viana.

Not a parenthesis, but a turning point and there in Brazil Don Giuseppe put down roots. And now he remains: but as a bishop. The motto chosen for his episcopal ministry is «Misit me serve» (he sent me to serve) and it sums up well the tone he intends to give to his episcopate: proximity, listening, concreteness. «Accompany me with prayer», he wrote in a message addressed to the Sardinian diocese a few hours before his ordination.

In his speech, Cardinal Miglio recalled the missionary dimension of the Christian faith, underlining how every bishop is such not by position, but by function : to bring the Gospel where it is needed, not where it is convenient.

His homily outlined the profile of a Church that never stops walking. A Church that knows how to recognize, in figures like Spiga, the ability to be a leader without cumbersome hierarchies, but with a style of sharing.

(Unioneonline/Fr.Me.)

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