Don Mazzi, founder of the Exodus community, has died

Don Antonio Mazzi, an Italian educator and activist dedicated to the rehabilitation of drug addicts and founder of the Exodus Foundation – which has confirmed his death – has died. Mazzi passed away today at the age of 96 at his long-standing home within Lambro Park in Milan. An educator, journalist and television personality, his life’s mission was to help the most vulnerable.

‘Surrounded right to the very end by the affection of his young people and the educators,’ reads a statement from the Exodus Foundation, ‘Father Antonio leaves an unfillable void. For over forty years, he led Exodus with tireless dedication, transforming the streets into a place of rebirth, redemption and hope for thousands of vulnerable young people and their families, and he has broken new ground in Italia and across the world – particularly in the poorest communities – through associations and co-operatives, working together to promote the great message of hope in human beings and in humanity. The entire Exodus community comes together in remembrance and gratitude towards a man who dedicated his entire life to welcoming and educating others.

“A father, a man, and in his own way a visionary, has left us,” says Franco Taverna, vice-president of the Exodus Don Antonio Mazzi Ets Foundation. A ‘crazy, borderline priest’, as he often liked to describe himself, who never tired of fighting to give back a future to the many young people he met during his life. Don Antonio loved to say that it wasn’t he who had saved the young people, but that it was actually ‘his difficult young people’ who had saved him. Today, the whole Exodus family rallies round his memory. We do not mourn him with resignation, but we will celebrate him, continuing to carry on his mission with the same passion, determination and that healthy madness that he passed on to us right up until his very last day.”

“His methodological approach, centred on education, combined with an extraordinary overview, has made it possible to redefine the guidelines for educational intervention in Italia,” continues Taverna – ‘The Foundation, whilst confirming the full continuity of all ongoing operational and project activities, is committed to preserving and promoting its vast scientific, educational and moral heritage.’

The funeral service for Don Antonio Mazzi will take place in the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, whilst the lying-in-state will be set up and open to all, without any formalities, “just as he would have liked”, at the historic Exodus headquarters, Cascina Molino Torrette, in Parco Lambro, Milan (pedestrian entrance), where it all began and where he always lived. The Exodus Foundation has announced this, specifying that the viewing area will be open on Saturday 1 August, from 5.00 pm to 8.00, and on Sunday 2 August from 9.00 am to 12.00 pm and from 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm. The funeral service will be held on Monday 3 August at 3.00 pm at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan: “It will not be a formal ceremony, but a vibrant liturgy, brought to life by the songs, music and words of the young people and educators from all the Exodus communities in Italia and around the world,” explains Exodus. The burial, however, will take place in a strictly private ceremony at Maguzzano Abbey (Bs), in the cemetery of the Opera don Giovanni Calabria.