We are Marco's parents, and we want to share with you what we experienced on July 28th last year, when our son received his Confirmation from Bishop Salvatore Boccaccio during the Faith and Light camp at Magnano.
For about twenty years now, we have faced every trial that life has to offer—and you understand what that means. Marco's birth and growth had closed our lives, our family, inward; we have accepted this and we love him, but everything belonged only to us. Our pain, our tears, the rare moments of joy and his kisses—all of it was ours alone.
Then, suddenly, Faith and Light. A lightning bolt.
And we discovered "Brothers and Sisters"—people willing to help us climb the road to Calvary and beyond, toward Resurrection.
Then came shared prayer, guitars, Mass in the parish church, Faith and Light camps. A window opened in our lives.
Our joys and our tears were no longer ours alone, but belonged to everyone. And our tears were no longer only tears of sorrow, but also of joy.
Through Faith and Light, Marco encountered his Jesus for the first time. As he continued on his path of faith, our Marco realized his deepest wish: to become a soldier, but a soldier of Christ.
Read also: "Truly the Spirit of the Lord Is upon Marco"
Supported by Faith and Light friends and surrounded by everyone, on July 28th Marco received the seal of the Lord at Magliano in Sabina, beneath God's open sky.
We have attended many Confirmations in our lives—in churches, in cathedrals. But nothing like this one: so beautiful, so moving, before an altar improvised beneath a leafy tree. We had never experienced anything like it.
It was a new Pentecost, with our young apostles united with us in joy. The place, the songs, Marco's own participation—all of it filled us with wonder and will stay with us forever. Marco understood what was happening. He took part in the celebration with genuine joy. He grasped so deeply what he received that he is happy now whenever we tell others about his beautiful Confirmation.
Thank you, friends. We will never forget this. We hope that others who long for it may also know the same joy we have been given.
- Pietro and Maria Grazia Coralli, 1992