Fr. Giorgio Ferrara, PIME, died on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020; he was 59 years old.

No matter where he went, people always remarked on the pure happiness that Fr. Giorgio emanated. A PIME missionary priest, Fr. Giorgio had a genuine joy that seemed to find its way into everything that he did, a joy that could only come from a complete resignation to the Will of God, a resignation that had its source in a life of total gratitude and humility.  

Born in Milan, Italy, on Dec. 19, 1960, Fr. Giorgio grew up in the home of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME in Latin). The missionary vocation was so ingrained in his family’s life that it only made sense that he would enter the PIME seminary and was ordained a missionary priest in Milan on June 7, 1986.

The youthful liveliness that the priest possessed made him the opportune candidate for vocation and youth outreach in Italy, and he spent the first five years of his priesthood committing himself to this task. Throughout his career in outreach, he always sought to connect those called by the Holy Spirit to the missionary vocation.

In 1991, he received his mission assignment of Japan; the country would become his new home and his passion. He spent 17 years ministering in a place where only about 0.35% of the population is Catholic. Despite the isolation, Fr. Giorgio fell in love with the country, serving in the diocese of Yokohama and Fukuoka.

He was assigned to the United States to serve at PIME’s Mission Center in Detroit in 2009. While in Detroit, he served in a variety of positions, including as center director, but his passion was his outreach and vocation work. He traveled all around, sharing his love of the Gospel with youth groups, on mission appeals, at local parishes, and even leading mission experiences and medical trips to Mexico. In 2014, he left Detroit for PIME’s mission in Harlem, to assist at St. Ann Church.

The following year, his love of the country brought him back to Japan for a short time, which would inevitably be his last. He spent some time in Italy due to a medical condition as well. In July of 2019, he returned to the U.S., assigned as parochial vicar of Regina Pacis Basilica in Brooklyn. His wake and funeral were held here on Jan. 30 and 31. Several bishops attended the ceremony, as well as hundreds of parishioners; the feeling of his joy and love for the community could be felt in the air.

Fr. Giorgio’s resignation to the Will of God was resolute but joyful and humble in its passionate dedication. He would never refuse anyone that the Lord brought to him for help: praying with the sick, blessing a house, or counseling troubled souls he gave all of himself. A young man once asked Fr. Giorgio for counsel, the priest told him, “Take care that your relationship with Jesus is strong. Cultivate the desire for great things in your heart. Dream about your future. Make room for Jesus in your daily life. And above all: read, reread and go on reading the Gospel again.”