Angelo Buccarello, OSST (born 12 May 1942) is an Italian Catholic priest and member of the

Trinitarians The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives ( la, Ordo Sanctissimae Trinitatis et Captivorum; abbreviated OSsT), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid, outside Par ...

known for his founding of the Catholic Chaplaincy for Prisons."CHURCH OBTAINS JUBILEE RELEASE FOR 3,000 MADAGASCAR PRISONERS." The Daily Catholic 11 No.78 (19 Apr. 2000): n. pag. News and Views. The Daily Catholic. Web. 14 Nov. 2010. .

Biography

Buccarello was born in

Castrignano del Capo Castrignano del Capo (Salentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy. It has three ''Villages'': Santa Maria di Leuca Santa Maria di Leuca, often spelled simply Leuca (, from ''Leukos'', "w ...

, a small Town in Southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, on

12 May Events Pre-1600 * 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. * 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the ...

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. After primary and junior secondary school, he entered the

Trinitarian Order , logo = Trynitarze.svg , logo_size = 150px , logo_caption = Flag of the Trinitarians , image = Signumordinis.gif , image_size = 200px , caption = Mosaic of Jesus Christ us ...

(OSST) on 17 November 1955. He entered the noviciate in 1959 and then pursued his studies: senior secondary school in

Livorno, Italy Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, philosophy at the College of St. Crisogonus in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

at the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peop ...

in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood on 28 June 1968. On 11 October 1969, he was assigned to a mission in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. His missionary work consisted mostly in welcoming people, helping them, evangelizing them, educating them in the faith, often by touring and visiting the fifty or so Christian communities in the country. In 1981, he was called to

Antananarivo Antananarivo ( French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "An ...

to train the young Trinitarian brothers of

. In 1983, the Cardinal named him

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of the prisons of

Work

He was named Catholic

for the Prisons of Madagascar. As a result, he founded the social programme of the ACP (Catholic Chaplaincy for Prisons). The ACP, whose centre is called

Tonga Soa Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, has performed a service to detainees and their families. The ACP is at present recognized by the Malagasy State as an ONG, of which Fr. Angelo is the founding president. He has worked in the prison domain with the ACP until his departure from Madagascar in 2001. With the ACP, his aim was to help his brother prisoners, especially the poorest, in their vital and legal needs, as well as in helping them regain their dignity, their goodness, their vocation. The ACP team provides: * Food services * Medical aid * Social assistance * Legal aid * Rehabilitation for freed prisoners * Production of coal from refuse. He opened centres for children of detainees in Amboditsiry, Andranobevava, Analamahitsy, Fenomanana, Anjiro, as well as for the most undernourished detainees of Androndra. After 32 years in Madagascar, of which 20 in Antananarivo, he was elected and named general Counsellor of the Trinitarian Order, in July 2001, in Rome (

). He was later named President of the Trinitarian International Solidarity, an organism with the aim of liberation.

Decorations

In December 1996, Fr. Angelo received the prize for Human Rights from the French President,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as ...

. He was named member of the Commission Nationale Malgache for Human Rights, and was decorated Knight and Officer of the Ordre National Malgache. His great exploit: Madagascar was the only country in the world which, on the occasion of the

Jubilee Year 2000 A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

, year of reconciliation and of debt remission, freed some 3000 prisoners, as a gesture of

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

, thanks to the faith and tenacity of Fr. Angelo and of the group ''Rêve 2000'' which he had formed, as well as the good response of the Bishops and of the Government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buccarello, Angelo 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests 1942 births Living people People from the Province of Lecce Pontifical Urban University alumni Trinitarians Italian expatriates in Madagascar