Milan bids farewell to Don Antonio Mazzi, Exodus founder, with 'Io vagabondo' and a 'prayer of ciao'

The funeral ceremony

Nearly a thousand people gathered at the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan on Monday, 3 August, for the funeral of Don Antonio Mazzi, the founder of the Exodus community who died on 31 July at the age of 96. The city observed a day of official mourning. The simple, light-wood coffin was adorned with a sunflower tied with a yellow ribbon. Inside the basilica, two floral wreaths were placed: one from the Curva Sud of AC Milan and a yellow one with green lettering reading "sempre nei nostri cuori" sent by the Italian band Pooh, whose singer Roby Facchinetti had visited the chapel of rest at Parco Lambro on Sunday morning.

Dignitaries and public figures in attendance

Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala attended wearing the tricolour sash, seated in the front row alongside prefect Claudio Sgaraglia, regional welfare assessor Guido Bertolaso, and Exodus vice-president Franco Taverna. Other notable attendees included Inter president Giuseppe Marotta, RCS Group president Urbano Cairo, former celebrity agent Lele Mora, and Don Luigi Ciotti, founder of the anti-mafia association Libera. Mayor Sala expressed support for a proposal by city councillors to inscribe Don Mazzi in the Famedio, the memorial to illustrious citizens at Milan's Monumental Cemetery, while stressing that "to honour Don Mazzi we must help ensure that Exodus continues."

Tributes from friends and colleagues

Giuseppe Marotta described Don Mazzi as someone who "interpreted the true Christian value of forgiveness and always managed to accompany those who have fallen and put them back on the right path." Lele Mora called him "a second father." Urbano Cairo noted that "he had the certainty of being able to help and he always tried anyway." European parliamentarian Giorgio Gori recalled that "every day he taught us lessons."

Three words are fundamental in the Gospel: hope, justice, welcome. He bore witness to this with Exodus.

Don Ciotti also reflected on their long friendship, saying that "over these years we have learned that God does not dwell in golden tabernacles; we must seek him in the streets where people struggle to survive." He added that "the problem of addictions is even more serious today" and described their bond as "welding together the earth with the sky."

The final farewell

As the coffin exited the basilica, mourners broke into a long applause and chanted "Don Mazzi, Don Mazzi" in unison. The loudspeakers played "Io vagabondo" by Nomadi, sung by friends and collaborators of Exodus. Before the hearse departed the church square, an AC Milan Curva Sud jersey was laid on the coffin. The archbishop of Milan, through his vicar, praised Don Mazzi's "ineradicable trust in people, even those given up for lost."

The 'prayer of ciao'

At the conclusion of the service, leaflets were distributed to attendees containing what Don Mazzi had designated as his spiritual testament: the "preghiera del ciao" (prayer of ciao). The text reads: "Ciao is light as a kiss. Ciao is sweet as a chocolate. Ciao is fraternal as an embrace. Ciao is overwhelming as a smile." It concludes with the words: "I want ciao written on my tomb because it says, in four letters, who I am, what I have done and what I will do. Lord, ciao!"

Burial

After the ceremony, the body was transferred to Maguzzano, on the Brescia shore of Lake Garda. A private burial will take place in the cemetery of the Opera Don Calabria, located within the abbey where the Verona-born priest had begun his studies as a young boy. Before the transfer, the coffin was taken to the crematorium temple at the Lambrate cemetery in Milan.