Dear Friends,
Fr Rass, the Provincial of the Divine Word Missionaries, passed on the sad news of the death of Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD. Ennio was a beautiful man and exemplified the best of the SVD tradition as a missionary, anthropologist, and faculty member at YTU.
Fr Rass wrote: “It is with deep sorrow that I write to inform you of the passing of our beloved confrere, Fr Ennio Mantovani SVD, who returned peacefully to the Lord on 18th October 2025 at 3:50 am in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Fr Ennio was a dedicated missionary priest whose life and ministry touched the hearts of many, especially through his years of committed service in Papua New Guinea and Australia. His unwavering dedication to intercultural understanding, missiology, anthropology, faith formation, and missionary discipleship remains a lasting legacy within the Society of the Divine Word and beyond.
A Requiem Mass to celebrate and give thanks for Fr Ennio’s life will be held at 10:00 am on Tuesday, 28th October, at the Arnold Janssen Chapel, 199 Epping Road, Marsfield. We invite all who knew and loved him to join in prayer, whether in person or in spirit.
As we commend Fr Ennio to the eternal embrace of our loving God, we also give thanks for the gift of his life and vocation. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
“My journey as a missionary began by trying to bring the Light where I expected to find darkness, and ended by discovering and being enriched by the Light that was already present.” Ennio Mantovani, Mission: from Bringing to Discovering the Light, 444
Ennio was a gem of a man and a true missionary. He was only a young boy when he entered religious life – a life he lived with great devotion, kindness, joy, and enthusiasm. He died on the Feast Day of St Luke, and the quote Rass selected reminds me of the beautiful line in the Benedictus "to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Luke 1:79). He certainly brought Light to so many people at YTU and beyond, and it is beautiful to know that he discovered that the Light was always there in the hearts of those he served in Papua New Guinea.
May he rest in the peace he so richly deserves.
Blessings
Chris CP