Emerging from the mire

Don Lolli’s family was among those that struggle, dignified and upright, to put some food on the table for lunch and supper. Orlando was a labourer, Alba a washerwoman; they married in1869. Angelo was born on 21 August 1880, a little brother for Rosa and Romeo. The Lollis were not “Church people”, which was pretty normal in Ravenna.
Angelo took his first steps in a difficult social environment, in which it was complicated, if not indeed impossible, to gain access to study. Poverty was a great hindrance. Emerging from the mire, as Don Angelo was to write, was nonetheless a goal he had clearly in his mind. God gave him a mysterious, crucial helping hand by means of Lucia Casadio, who lived in the Lollis’ house, renting a room and helping Alba with her little son. It was thanks to “Lezi”, who drew him to faith and often took him to church to pray, that Angelo began to watch the lives of Ravenna’s priests with interest. And he showed this interest at home. His mother was not convinced, but his father was open-minded. The questions hung in the air, but God already had an extraordinary flight plan in his heart for little Angelo.