Fr. Russ Ruffino shares this ordination anniversary story from Sicily:

On 16 July, Padre Giovanni La Rosa (pictured, left), the Chaplain of the Church of Saint Albert, Randazzo, Sicily, celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

This may not be a very significant milestone, but his personal spiritual journey and his ministry here in Sicily are a historic adventure in our Diocese.

Padre Giovanni was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church and in Holy Week, 2017 he was received by Bishop David as a priest of the Church of England. When Padre Giovanni left the ministry in the Roman Catholic Church and found his home among us, people followed him, and together they formed an Anglican community in Randazzo. 

In November 2016, Father Russ Ruffino, locum at Holy Cross Church, Palermo authorized by Bishop David, received the congregation of 40 faithful into the Church of England. You can read about this service in this Diocese in Europe web story with a picture below. At the foot of Mount Etna they are the first and only Church of England Italian-Anglican community in Italy.

In addition to his challenging pastoral ministry Padre Giovanni is very active and most welcome in the ecumenical events and activities in the area; he also works with families with disabled children; he also occasionally provides assistance to Holy Cross, filling in for the locum on Sunday’s and performing weddings.

Congratulations and Molte Grazie, Padre Giovanni.