Pioneering Italian missioner dies in India

August 28, 2012: An Italian missionary, who pioneered several employment projects in India, died on Monday in New Delhi. Fr Dino Colussi “has been ailing for about a month and was in and out of hospital for treatment when he suffered a fatal heart attack today and died,” said Fr Paul Padamattumel, rector of the Delhi Provincial House of the Salesians. He was 83. The missionary died at Holy Family Hospital, Okhla, close to the provincial house.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio was among dignitaries who turned up to pay respects to the deceased missionary on Monday.

The Salesian Family members will offer a requiem Mass at the provincial house on Tuesday. The body will be flown on Wednesday to Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state, where Fr Colussi wished to be buried at Don Bosco Kokkar, Ranchi near his older brother Fr Guido. Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, will lead the funeral on August 30.

Fr Colussi was the youngest of five brothers, all Salesian priests, who went to the missions in their late teens. Four of the brothers -- Guido, Ferruccio, Luciano and Dino -- came to India and Giuseppe went to South America.

Their only sister, Rina joined the brothers to go to the missions and was a pioneer missionary among the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters) in India and was buried in Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state in northeastern India. In 2010, one of his brothers, Fr Luciano Colussi, former vicar general of Krishnagar diocese, was buried at the historical Marian Shrine at Bandel, near Kolkata.

Arriving in India in 1951, Fr Dino started several employment projects at Don Bosco Youth Centre Krishnagar in Nadia district. Some of the employment generating projects included poultry farming, piggery, saw mill, as well as food canning factory that provided jobs for scores of local youth.