Father Ujëp Freinademetz

Padre Freinademetz da OiesFather Ujëp Freinademetz is the most famous holy character not only in Badia Valley, but in the whole Südtirol. In all the churches of the villages of Badia Valley, as in a lot of churches of the province and in many private houses, we can find a bild of this charismatic caracter, that the inhabitants usually invoke in order to protect this wonderfull land. In the World Missionary Day in 1975, the Holy Father Paul VI beatified Ujëp Freinademetz, describing him as a model to follow and as a patron to invoke. Then, Novemeber the 9th 2003, he was made holy by the Pope John Paul II.
The Holy Father underlined on that occasion the importance of China for the world and for the mission of the Church. However, it is not possible to talk about Uj
ëp Freinademetz without connecting him with the destiny of Christianity in the great chinese nation. He was born in Oies, next to San Leonardo/Pedraces in 1852 in a peasant family. Freinademetz became priest in 1875. The first witnessed and documented miracle of the Father dates back to 1939. The church build on his memory and his native house in Oies are the most suggestive places where we can remember the life and the actions of this great man of Badia Valley. Ujëp Freinademetz leaved to China in the April of 1879. He was 27 years old. His mission, lasted almost 29 years - he died in January 1908 - was a service totally dedicated to chineese people. He never came back to Europe. In the years of Ujëp Freinadmetz, the catholic mission was involved in the colonial vision. The mission didn't established a clear difference between european cultur and the message of the Gospel. The preasts used to leave to teach to igorants, to bring the light to people living in the darkness and submitted to the evil power. The main aim consisted in the preach of the Gospel and the baptism to save the souls; the missionaries believed also to be bringers of civilisations to people still living in the past. On the contrary, one  of the most important qualities of Ujëp Freinademetz was his extreme goodness and kindness. The christinas, above all the neophytes and common people, were fonded of him as  children of their grandfather. In 1884 he wrote in one of his letters: "Chineese are very intelligent people, skillfull people, simple farmers can speak as doctors... in a lot of fields they are better than the europeans". Some years ago he wrote:" Chineese are a wonderful people, with a lot of qualities and virtues". He declared also:"I love China and his people and I would die thousend times for them...I want to remain chineese also in heaven". And the end of 1907 the mission was involved in a typus epidemic and Ujëp contracted the illness too, helping his people. He died January the 28th , exhorting the other missionaries in taking care of the ills, because "we came here to serve".

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