Massacre in Casteldaccia, hundreds in Alcamo to bid farewell to Roberto Raneri.

Last Updated: May 13, 2024

La strage di Casteldaccia, in centinaia ad Alcamo per l'ultimo saluto a Roberto Raneri

In Alcamo, it is the day of farewell to Roberto Raneri, the 50-year-old worker who lost his life along with four other colleagues in Casteldaccia. The funeral was held in the large atrium of the Salesian oratory of the church of the Holy Souls: hundreds of people were present. The service was celebrated by the bishop of Trapani, Pietro Maria Fragnelli.

Also present to bid farewell to Raneri were the mayors of Alcamo, Domenico Surdi; of Partinico, Piero Rao; and of Casteldaccia, Giovanni Di Giacinto. “This death at work is a darkness that pervades not only you of the family, but the entire parish community, our entire city, the world itself – said the bishop -. We must pray to the Risen Lord so that his light may shine on our experiences of pain and on the darkness that life brings with it.”

During the homily, he then addressed the family of the worker: “On behalf of the entire community, I want to tell Benedetta and her two children Chiara and Gioele, but also to all the relatives of Roberto and Epifanio, that the prospect of the house of the Lord will continue to fill your path with light and make your service to life even stronger, to walk together with kindness, justice, and beauty.”

“To be here – he continued – means that each of us becomes a brother or sister who helps to dry the tears. Our whole life must consist in trying to make the valley in which we walk less dark, to make the valley of life, fraternity, and smiles brighter and more welcoming. We need role models and Don Bosco is a model that will allow us to continue living in the trust that our brothers who have entered the Father’s house will continue to think of us and watch over us in our daily journey. I thank everyone and the civil and military authorities because these are situations in which we cannot handle alone everything that such a pain brings with it. And we need to be united, to be together, so that we can build a better future.”

This morning in Palermo, the funeral of another victim of the massacre was also celebrated. The whole district of Albergheria stopped to say goodbye to Giuseppe La Barbera, the youngest worker who lost his life during the work in the sewer system in Casteldaccia.