At the very end of his Palm Sunday homily, Pope Leo XIV quoted Bishop Antonio Bello's prayer to Mary:
In the words of the Servant of God, Bishop Tonino Bello, I would like to entrust this cry to Mary Most Holy, who stands beneath the cross of her Son and weeps also at the feet of those who are crucified today:
“Holy Mary, woman of the third day, grant us the certainty that, in spite of all, death will no longer hold sway over us; that the injustices of peoples are numbered; that the flashes of war are fading into the twilight; that the sufferings of the poor are breathing their last. And grant, finally, that the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun” (Maria, donna dei nostri giorni).
This was the second time he quoted Bishop Bello's prayer, the first during a homily on October 26.
Whenever a pope quotes someone in his public homilies, it should signal to us that we should have a look and see who this person was.
Who was Bishop Antonio Bello?
Antonio Bello, sometimes called "Tonino," according to the Italian nickname for Anthony, was an Italian bishop who lived from 1935 to 1993. In 1969 he was appointed an assistant to the Catholic Action movement in Italy and then was later involved with Caritas Internationalis as a parish priest.
In 1982 he was appointed Bishop of Molfetta and a few years later was appointed president for Pax Christi in 1985. In an article for Aleteia, Alicia Ambrosio wrote about his unique pastoral style:
When he was made bishop of the Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, his down-to-earth manner, his special attention for the poor, and his thirst for justice turned heads.
On one of his first days in the diocese he took part -- incognito -- in a peace march organized by the student movement Catholic Action. Only at the end of the march did he reveal that he was the new bishop. The students, immediately taken with their new supporter, forged a strong friendship with Bishop Bello.
He also wore a wooden pectoral cross, which is rare for a bishop, as a symbol of his desire to be poor with the poor.
In addition to his care for the poor, he was also outspoken of the Gulf War in the early 1990s:
With Pax Christi behind him, he took part in peace marches, and spoke out against the first Gulf War, telling soldiers to “do what your conscience tells you." He led a peace delegation to Sarajevo in December of 1992 while the city was still caught in the middle of war.
His cause for canonization was opened in 2007 and Pope Francis recognized his heroic virtues in 2021, granting him the title of "venerable."
