Hajja Salesjana July-September 2022

the poorest, making his rounds on his ever- present bicycle. He dealt with money but his life was of the poorest. He even had to borrow a suit, hat, and suitcase to travel to Italy for the canonization of Don Bosco. He was loved and esteemed by the sick and by the doctors who had very great confidence in him, abandoning themselves to his influence which sprang from his sanctity: “When I am with Zatti, I can do nothing else but believe in God,” exclaimed a doctor who was a self-proclaimed atheist. To Zatti, every patient was Jesus Himself. When his superiors recommended that he not admit more than 30 patients, he was heard to mumble: “And if the 31st patient would be Jesus Himself?” Artemides’ witness as a true Good Samaritan every day of his life, merciful as the Father, was a mission and a style that involved everyone who, in whatever way, dedicated themselves to the hospital: doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and caregivers, the Sisters, and the volunteers who gave their precious time to those who were suffering. He was attentive when listening to the patients, to their stories, sufferings, and fears. He knew that even when it would be impossible to cure the illness, one could always give care, console, and let the ill person feel one’s closeness which demonstrated concern for the one confronting his/her illness. In everything and always he was Salesian—a Salesian Brother; i.e., not a Priest. This lay Salesian vocation is part of the physiognomy that Don Bosco wanted to give to the Salesian Congregation. To them Don Bosco said very clearly, “I need you.” Pope Francis himself experienced the efficacious intercession of Artemides Zatti regarding the lay consecrated vocation when he was the Provincial of the Jesuits in Argentina. He wrote in a letter: “In 1976, while making the canonical visitation to the missionary Jesuits in the north of Argentina, I spent several days in the Archbishop’s house in Salta. At the end of one of the meals, amid various discussions, Archbishop Perez spoke to me of Br. Zatti. He even gave me the opportunity to read a book on his life. The fact that he was a Coadjutor Brother in every way struck me. At that moment, I felt that I had to ask the Lord, through the intercession of Br. Zatti, to send us Coadjutor vocations. I made the novena and asked the novices to make it also.” Then he continued: “From the time we began our prayers to Br. Zatti, 23 young Brother Jesuits have persevered. I am convinced that it was due to his intercession since, taking the number into consideration, this is unusual for our Order. I repeat that I am convinced of his intercession because I know just how much we had prayed to him to be our intercessor.” 21 Lulju - Settembru 2022 hajja