By: Jaclyn Sheridan
Posted In: News
Photo credit: www.nyumbani.org
A photo montage from the website for Nyumbani Home.
Reverence for Fr. Angelo D’Agostino will certainly continue to thrive.
Three weeks ago, on Monday, Nov. 20, the Salve Regina community was stirred and saddened by the passing of Fr. D’Agostino. He was a gracious contributor to the social interests of this university, and an international advocate of pursuing peace and showing unending mercy. At Salve Regina University’s 2004 Convocation, Fr. D’Agostino delivered a compelling address regarding the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and the staggering, and still increasing, number of orphans there. He implored the help of our university community, which he deemed as having the power to positively impact the world. Dr. Anthony LoPresti, assistant professor of Religious Studies at Salve Regina, has traveled to Africa and worked closely with Fr. D’Agostino over the years. “He had a kind of quiet charisma which drew you in and inspired you to be better than you thought you could be,” LoPresti said. “I think people were impressed both by the nobility of his life and the simplicity of the person. Here was a good man who lived a good life, one who spoke sincerely and truthfully from the heart.” According to Dr. LoPresti’s written introduction for Fr. D’Agostino’s 2004 Convocation speech, the Jesuit Priest made nothing short of a profound mark on this world. A Rhode Island native, he was educated by the Sisters of Mercy at the Holy Ghost School in Providence. He graduated from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, and received a medical degree from Tufts University. He worked at Rhode Island Hospital, and later went on to serve as a surgeon in the US Air Force. In 1955, Fr. D’Agostino joined the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus. After working in psychiatry for a few years in Washington D.C., in 1980 the Jesuits sent him on a mission as the medical director of a large refugee camp in Thailand. Shortly thereafter, he became aware of the steady flux of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. In 1992, Fr. D’Agostino established Nyumbani Home for HIV+ Children, in a valiant effort to provide needed health and care services, as over 15 million children in Africa are now orphaned by AIDS. Justine Axelsson, a senior at Salve Regina, had also been to Africa and experienced the mercy of Father D’Agostino. “In a way, we were picking his brain, hoping to get advice and a little guidance from him,” Axelsson said. “He did us a huge favor during the last week we were in Kenya by taking a very sick HIV+ orphan into Nyumbani and giving him a new home that seemed liked paradise compared to where he was living before. I am so grateful to Father D’Ag for that, as well as for what he has done regarding the AIDS plight in Kenya. He has given us a reason to work harder.” And indeed, his perseverance has inspired the entire community. On April 1, 2006 Salve Regina’s first-ever “Kucheza Kwa Watoto: Dancing for Children” marathon, which raised over $10, 000, benefited Fr. D’Agostino’s Nyumbani Home. In the steps of other university-wide dance marathons successfully organized at other schools, students at Salve started the mission in an effort to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic, and will ultimately continue on Fr. D’Agostino’s integral path, as plans are currently in progress for the 2007 marathon. “He was a supremely talented man of vision, one of those rare individuals who could not only think outside the box, but one who possessed the skills to bring the vision to life,” LoPresti said. “Yet despite his incredible gifts, he remained a humble priest who gave credit to his benefactors and, ultimately, to God.” Fr. D’Agostino’s work in mercy has been an unparalleled inspiration, and his words and actions will continue to encourage our community to strive for a more just, harmonious and merciful world. A special memorial service for Fr. Angelo D’Agostino will be held on Saturday, December 16, at the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, 399 Fruit Hill Avenue, in North Providence, RI. The service will begin at 11 a.m. and a reception will follow. For more information, please visit www.nyumbani.org. A special thank you to Dr. Anthony LoPresti and Justine Axelsson for their help with this tribute.
