Rolando Rivi

Rolando Maria Rivi (7 January 1931 – 13 April 1945) was an Italian seminarian killed by Communist partisans in odium fidei. He has since been beatified, a step in the process of canonization in the Catholic Church.

Early life

Rolando was born 7 January 1931 in a village in the municipality of Castellarano (Reggio Emilia), a rural village in the foothills of the Apennines, between the Secchia and Tresinaro Rivers.

Second of the three sons of Roberto Rivi and Albertina Canovi, he was baptised by the parish priest Luigi Lemmi. His young father, 28 years old at the time of his birth, was the son of Alfonso Rivi and Anna Ferrari, who had moved to Levizzano-Baiso to work the land there, and since the 1920s lived in a large country house, named "Poggiolo", with their nine children, of whom Roberto was the eldest son, born in 1903.

Rolando grew up educated in the Catholic faith due to the influence of his mother, Anna, and in the strong Catholic atmosphere of 1920s Italy was a fixture in his parish. Before going to work in the fields every morning, he attended the celebration of the Mass and received Holy Communion. In this atmosphere of strong religious faith, Rolando grew, along with his older brother Guido and younger sister Rosanna. His exuberance and liveliness often proved a test to his parents, but his grandmother Anna sensed his good character and said, "Rolando will become either a rascal or a saint! He can not walk the middle ground."

At the age of six, he began attending elementary school. His teachers, Clotilde Selmi and the catechist Antoinette Maffei, nourished the young Rolando's love for life, for family, and for Jesus, completing the education he received from his family. He was admitted to receive First Communion almost immediately, because he was among the better prepared children and eager to do so. His First Communion was on 16 June 1938, the Feast of Corpus Christi. Rolando changed after that day: while remaining lively, he became more mature and responsible, a change which was accentuated after receiving Confirmation on 24 June 1940.

In the meantime, his parish priest, Father Marzocchini Olinto (who by March 1934 had taken the place of the deceased Father Lemmi), became his teacher and a spiritual father to Rolando. Rolando availed himself to the Sacrament of Penance every week, and every morning he got up early to serve Mass and receive Communion. He was almost 11 years old when he was no longer able to ignore the beginnings of his priestly vocation, and he said to his parents and grandparents: "I want to be a priest, to save many souls. I will go as a missionary to make Jesus known, far far away." His pious parents did not oppose the decision, and after Rolando completed primary school, he entered the Seminary of Marola in Carpineti in October 1942. As was the custom, he wore the cassock as a seminarian. Rolando was proud of the garment, viewing it as a sign of his belonging to Christ and the Church.

Martyrdom

Rolando was murdered by Communist partisans, whose hatred of the Catholic faith was such that they were willing to kill him in order to have "one less future priest."