Yesterday afternoon, the ceremony was held at the Ridotto del Teatro del Popolo.
The Archbishop was honoured for his eleven years of missionary work in Ciad.
‘He has combined the Gospel message with listening and collaboration with local communities, in the spirit of peace, brotherhood and dialogue among peoples.’
These were the first words with which Daniela Casagli outlined the reasons for the ‘Romanello Cantini’ Peace Prize, which was awarded yesterday afternoon to Monsignor Gherardo Gambelli, Metropolitan Archbishop of Florence, for his missionary work in Ciad, which has continued for eleven years.
Present at the ceremony were the Mayor of Castelfiorentino, Francesca Giannì, the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina, Lapo Cantini and Daniela Casagli (from the “Romanello Cantini” association), and finally the journalist Andrea Fagioli, who, after the speeches, asked Archbishop Gambelli a series of questions based on his experience in Africa and also on the current situation, characterised by numerous conflicts. There was a large turnout from the public: many members of the ‘Romanello Cantini’ association were present, as well as Monsignor Gambelli’s family (the Archbishop grew up in Castelfiorentino), the new proposed of Santa Verdiana, Don Leonardo, and finally Don Alessandro Lombardi.
‘The culture of peace,’ emphasises Franco Spina, Councillor for Culture, “starts with individual stories, with the small things that each of us does, with the “bridges” we build between differences, with full respect for our own freedom and that of others. Talking about peace is a complex matter, perhaps too complex, and it is essential to start from the bottom, from the particular to arrive at the universal, and to identify peace not only as a point of arrival but above all as a “handcrafted” tool (to quote Pope Francis) for building bridges, with human responsibility, starting from small gestures of care and dialogue in everyday life. Starting to “make rainbows” can and must be our task in the world.
The reasons for the award given to Monsignor Gherardo Gambelli were as follows: “For eleven years, he has brought a message of peace to the heart of one of the most sensitive regions of the African continent, where Christians represent just 1% of the population and religious coexistence is a daily challenge. The help that Don Gherardo has always given to the poorest to improve their living conditions has helped to alleviate the root causes of conflict, such as scarcity of resources and uncertainty about the future, while promoting social justice and human and spiritual progress. Hunger, like war, is a serious scourge of the Third World because injustice causes not only poverty but also insecurity. Today, perhaps not coincidentally, we celebrate the 9th Day of the Poor and their Jubilee, and today the Municipality of Castelfiorentino and the “Romanello Cantini” Association award the 3rd edition of the “Romanello Cantini – Fabbricanti di arcobaleni” Peace Prize to His Excellency Monsignor Gherardo Gambelli.
Monsignor Gherardo Gambelli decided to donate the prize (consisting of €1,000) to AMO – Amici del Medio Oriente (Friends of the Middle East) to be invested in scholarships abroad for young Iranian students, recognising the power of education as the first step towards building peace and promoting culture, the only infallible antidote to barbarism.
