Of your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of my dear friend and mentor, Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro, whose kindness, good cheer, and deep faith combined with a boundless energy, made him one of the great men of the Church in our troubled times.

Five years ago, he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. We had the same doctor and Dr. Walbrecher told me he didn’t expect him to live more than a few weeks. Monsignore’s determination to continue serving the Church as long as possible brought him through some awful treatments, and never with a single word of complaint. I’ve missed him dreadfully since he moved back to the US for further treatment, and the news of his death – though long expected – has come as a shock.

For the first five years of my time in Italy it was his encouragement that brought me forward in all my work and without his help and instruction and guidance, I would certainly not have stayed here. For a long time, I ended all arguments with, “Well, Monsignore says…”

He was a lion for Christ.

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