My friend Father Sal Polizzi is amazing by any standard. Well into his 80’s (in fact closer to 90), he is still an active, full-time pastor,  a highly respected civic and church leader and a devoted brother, uncle and great-uncle. 

Monsignor Sal Polizzi (aka Father Turiddu)

Father Polizzi is the inspiration for my four Father Turiddu novels (available on Amazon). These may not be great works of literature, but I hope they are loving tributes to a man who has inspired me since the first time I met him more than 30 years ago. Using thin plot lines and, some would say, contrived situations such as the kidnapping of a controversial Cardinal from the Vatican, I have tried to illustrate Father Turiddu’s exceptional gifts as a pastor who cares deeply for his family, his friends and all God’s children. 

As a young priest, Father Sal was an activist who earned a Master’s degree in urban planning and used it to fight for the Italian American community in his beloved St. Louis. In the 1950s and 60s, when “white flight” was frightening people in other neighborhoods into abandoning their homes and moving away, Father Sal urged his parishioners to stay and fight. As a result, the Italian neighborhood known as “The Hill” remains a vibrant community—an excellent place to live and raise a family—to this day.

Similarly, when a new superhighway threatened to cut off residents of The Hill from ready access to essential services such as firefighters, police and emergency medical personnel, Father Sal organized the community and persuaded the “powers that be” by nonviolent resistance to build an overpass that guaranteed access to the neighborhood at all times.

Father Polizzi is still active, but he’s slowing down some. Holy Week and Easter Services wore him out this year. And he can’t wait until the parish fundraising dinner scheduled for April 15 is successfully concluded. This is as it should be—the natural rhythm of life.

After all these years, there’s only one thing Father Sal asks for in return for all that he’s given me as a friend and mentor. “Pray for me, Dan,” he asks every time we talk. “I do, Father. Every day,” is my response.

I pray for his peace, for his health and for God’s continued blessing on a man who has served the Church and the city he loves with such distinction for so many years.

Happy Easter, Father Turiddu! Ad multos annos!

Thirteen years ago, I attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II along with millions of others from all over the world. What a great privilege! What an experience! I will never forget the shouts and signs demanding (respectfully) Santo subito! Sainthood now! 

The Church recognizes the sanctity of this great man and includes him among those whose holiness has become a model for us all. St. John Paul, pray for us! Inspire us with your fidelity to God’s will and to the teachings of God’s Church. May Santo subito! always be our motto. May we learn holiness through prayer and action, following your example, as we seek the Lord Jesus every moment of our lives. 

“It was 13years ago today when Pope John Paul II passed from this life into his eternal glory. We thank God for his extraordinary life of holiness and the huge impact he has had on the faith of generations of people. We pray for his intercession. St. Pope John Paul II, pray for us!” (Bishop Paul J. Bradley)

Easter joy overcomes all sadness. Christ is truly risen!

 None of us is asked: “Are you happy with what is happening in the world? Are you willing to carry this cross further?” And the cross goes forth and faith in Jesus comes down from it. Today, the Church continues to say: “Stop. Jesus is Risen.” And this is not a fantasy. The Resurrection of Christ is not a celebration with many flowers. This is beautiful, but this is not it. It is something more. It is the mystery of the discarded stone which becomes the foundation of our existence. Christ is Risen. This is what it means. (Pope Francis)

“Faith in the Resurrection of Jesus says that there is a future for every human being; the cry for unending life which is a part of the person is indeed answered. Through Jesus we do know ‘the room where exiled love lays down its victory.’ He himself is this place, and he calls us to be with him and in dependence on him. He calls us to keep this place open within the world so that he, the exiled love, may reappear over and over in the world.… God exists: that is the real message of Easter. Anyone who even begins to grasp what this means also knows what it means to be redeemed.” (Pope Benedict XVI)