1 - He lived in Rome, a tall blond man. He had a special job: he was the Pope's tailor!
2 - He married Olga and had two children: Max and Sabina. Gradually it became clear that Sabina could not see, could not hear, did not behave like other children. Francesco's family was struck by sorrow. Years of loneliness and fear followed.
3 - At her special school, Sabina has a classmate named Francesca, a girl with serious difficulties of her own. Her parents, along with other mothers and fathers, found many friends in Faith and Light. Between the two families a deep friendship grew, and it opened to embrace many other parents.
4 - Francesco, Olga, and Sabina became part of this large family. Sabina, welcomed by Guenda, spent her first day in the "little house" with friends both young and old.
5 - In 1978 Francesco, Olga, and Sabina joined the great Faith and Light pilgrimage to Assisi, and peace returned to his heart.
6 - In the summer of 1979 Sabina went to camp at Alfedena with her friends. Francesco and Olga, visiting, found her at peace and well settled in.
7 - Francesco now participated regularly with Sabina and Olga in the life of Faith and Light. He felt most at home when he could be useful: one of his specialties was "the grill."
8 - Meanwhile something very important happened: Sabina received her First Communion, and "on that occasion," Father Sankale wrote, "Francesco opened himself to God's personal, unique, infinite love."
9 - Francesco became an ever greater friend to Faith and Light; the movement could not do without him. In 1982 he was named international vice-coordinator. He accepted the charge and worked, as he had promised, "with all his strength so that others might receive what he had received."
10 - On March 31, 1984, during a great audience, Sabina received Communion from the hands of Pope John Paul II in the presence of eight thousand people—"an immense joy for Olga and for me," Francesco would write, "an important moment for all the Sabinas in the world."
11 - Francesco attended many Faith and Light camps during the summer. On those occasions he would even volunteer as a bus driver!
12 - In the evenings, when the children slept, friends kept vigil around the table. Francesco listened to them, solved problems, took on the hardest tasks with great generosity.
13 - When they returned to Rome, despite his work and many responsibilities, Francesco found time to take Sabina to the swimming pool.
14 - Harder times came. A grave illness struck Francesco. Weakness and pain did not prevent him from attending the Assisi pilgrimage in 1986 in a wheelchair. Peace and courage never left his heart: it was he who led one of the meetings, its theme drawn from the Canticle of the Sun: "Praised be You, my Lord, for our sister bodily Death."