RIP Ada Miotti Parolin - Pope Francis Sends a Message of Condolence upon the Death of Cardinal Parolin's Mother

The Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, celebrated the funeral of his mother Ada Miotti Parolin, who died last Aug.31st. She passed at the age of 96, in Schiavon, in the province of Vicenza, Italy. A message from Pope Francis was read at the beginning of the funeral. Several hundred people attended the ceremony
“Thank you, Mom, on your knees we learned about the Gospel. In you, today, that faith in the resurrection in which we believe is realized.” With these words, spoken with a voice full of emotion, Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrated on September 3, the funeral of his mother Ada Miotti, who passed away at Casa Gerosa in Bassano del Grappa. All of Schiavon, the cardinal’s hometown in the province of Vicenza, wanted to gather around the Secretary of State, his siblings Maria Rosa and Giovanni, and all the family members, at the moment of farewell in the parish church: first yesterday evening, with the recitation of the Rosary and then this morning with the funeral. “Jesus fulfilled what He said and promised in the Paschal Mystery,” said the cardinal. “We are convinced that He who resurrected the Lord Jesus will also resurrect us with Jesus and will want us beside Him (...) This is the faith that my mother taught me and which today finds its full realization and consummation in her.”
Concelebrating in the presbytery were the Cardinal Almoner Konrad Krajewski and the Bishop of Vicenza, Giuliano Brugnotto. Also present were Archbishop Luigi Russo, Secretary of the Pontifical Representations, and various prelates of the Episcopal Conference: the Bishop of Verona Domenico Pompili, of Pordenone Giuseppe Pellegrini, the emeritus Beniamino Pizziol, Adriano Tessarollo and Egidio Bisol, as well as Flaviano Rami Al Kabalan, procurator of the Syro Malabars in Italy. There were numerous priests, about fifty, including the local parish priest, of Schiavon and Longa, Fr. Luciano Attorni, and several nuns. There were also many civil and military authorities.
At the beginning of the Mass, a message of condolence sent to Cardinal Parolin by the Pope, who had recently arrived in Asia for the beginning of his apostolic journey, was read. “Informed of the passing of the dear mother,” the telegram reads, “I participate spiritually in the mourning that has struck her family, assuring my closeness in this particular moment of human suffering.” Francis’ telegram, which assures prayer and blessing, was also joined by a private message from Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the CEI.
In his homily, Cardinal Parolin said that “the mother fell asleep peacefully in the Lord. I imagine her welcomed at the gates of Heaven, in addition to the Savior, by the Virgin Mary to whom she was very devoted and by Saint Peter, by three people. The first is Father Luigi: she had confided in me that she had fallen in love with her, struck by her way of praying in this church, things that no longer happen today. It was a beautiful and unfortunately brief story of conjugal love. Today they meet again 59 years later, in an embrace that no one will ever be able to undo and that will last for all eternity”. The cardinal then remembered “Don Angelo Fornase, parish priest of Schiavon from 1961 to 1981, who accompanied her in bad times, such as the death of my father, and good times, such as my priestly ordination. And the school principal Sartor, with whom she had collaborated for a long time as an elementary school teacher. I mention these people to say the three areas, family, church and school, in which the mother committed herself giving everything and teaching us to give everything. She had an immense love for us children, she raised us and accompanied us with courage and strength of spirit.
Love for the Church
And she had an immense love for the Church since her youth, at Villa Raspa where she was originally from. Once, while we were talking about the crisis of faith of our times, she said more or less like this: “I cannot understand those who leave the Church which is our mother. We learned to know the Gospel on her knees”. Cardinal Parolin emphasized that following the example of her mother “it is possible to follow Jesus and love the Gospel, to love God and our neighbor by following the commandments. We live in a time in which educational agencies struggle to find collaboration and synergies. Mother has shown us the unity of her person, we three children are grateful and thankful to her. May an effort of convergence be pursued so that the future of young people is beautiful and full of hope”.
 After the Mass, the coffin was accompanied to the adjacent cemetery of Schiavon for burial in the family chapel, exactly above her husband Luigi, who passed away in 1965 at the age of just 44. As he recited the last prayer, Cardinal Parolin's face was filled with tears, while the relatives said goodbye to their loved one, kissing the coffin one by one.
Source: Vatican News Italian