A Man of God
EMILIANO TARDIF, A MAN OF GOD
Maria Armenteros Sangiovanni
A refreshing book that allows us to approach, in an authentic and trustworthy manner, both historically and spiritually, the great figure that Father Emiliano Tardif, MSC, was. Even those who knew him closely will find here a mine where they can discover new traits of his extraordinary personality.
A woman of faith
Maria Armenteros Sangiovanni is a woman of faith, whom a first encounter with the Lord, in 1973, launched into preaching throughout the world. Mother of five children, her life represents a testimony for her own family and for her community of the Servants of the Living Christ, of which she is, with Father Emiliano Tardif and Evaristo Guzman, the co-founder. This community has several houses of prayer and of evangelization in the Dominican Republic, in Colombia, in Cuba, in Italy, in Spain, and in the United States.
About Father Tardif - Extract from a review. Father Émilien Tardif
At the heart of his spirituality
At the heart of his spirituality: the Eucharist, which feeds evangelization to transform the world into a place of joy and life. With the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, she is henceforth the guardian of Father Tardif's tomb.
The Jean-Paul II School of Evangelization is Father Tardif's last work. His death, however, prevented him from seeing its completion. It is the Community of the Servants of the Living Christ, a private association of the faithful that the missionary founded in 1982 with Maria Armenteros Malla and Evaristo Guzman, that would take charge, despite the financial obstacles, of finishing the work. The school and its church stand today in all their beauty and simplicity in the midst of magnificently laid-out gardens. The community, which counts nearly 900 members and about thirty houses in the world, continues Father Tardif's work of evangelization and healing. Besides the Dominican Republic, it is present in Panama, the United States, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, as well as in Italy.
His definitive home
“How many people approached Father Émilien with serious problems and who, after a simple conversation with him, left comforted and full of hope,” indicated Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez during the burial Mass. “He was a man of great faith, inherited from his family in Canada,” continued the cardinal. “After being miraculously healed of tuberculosis [1973], his life was transformed.
From that moment, Father Émilien became aware that the Lord was entrusting him with a mission, and he fulfilled it with fidelity. […] This virtuous, affable, humble man, endowed with a fine sense of humor, never changed even though he saw himself constantly surrounded by people who sought him, loved him and had admiration for him. […] The great missionary that he was during his life sowed much, but I am sure that it is now that Father Émilien will bear the most fruit.”
But the fame of this Canadian priest, born in Saint-Zacharie in Beauce on June 6, 1928, goes beyond the borders of the Dominican Republic, for the one who called himself the “little donkey of Christ” carried Jesus to more than 70 countries. But it is first of all to the small, the abandoned, and those stripped of everything that the Lord made known, in the person of Father Tardif, his love as a Father. For to the Dominicans, a people victim of great poverty, Father Tardif is more than a friend; he is a father who loves them with a love that heals and consoles. The translation of his remains from Santiago to Santo Domingo and the announcement of his possible beatification made the headlines of the country's newspapers.
A preacher gifted with a healing charism, Father Tardif was not a prophet in his own country. But in the Dominican Republic, where he worked for 43 years, people already venerate him as a saint. In the taxis, in the shops or in the street, everywhere he is known and loved. “He is a saint”, a customs officer would say at the Santo Domingo airport. Here will be his definitive home.
Katia Klanac, Le Nouvel Informateur Catholique (Canada)
“A very beautiful biography, filled with moving testimonies, by Maria A. Sangiovanni, who founded with him and Evaristo Guzman the Community of the Servants of the Living Christ”
Jean-Claude Jaffé, Foi et Vie of the diocese of Toulouse, September 2007