Bishop João Scognamiglio Clá Dias, founder of the Heralds of the Gospel, passed away on November 1, 2024. The question that immediately arises is: what will his legacy be?
Newsroom (01/11/2024 15:03, Gaudium Press) When you look at the biographies of well-known people in reference works, you often come across a parade of pragmatic information: he was born in such and such a place, his family had such and such conditions, he undertook such and such activities and, finally, he died at such and such an age.
When it comes to hagiographies or memoirs of notable men, the task becomes much more arduous, especially if you want to compress them into a synthesis. Just as the Word of God transposed into the Holy Scriptures is incapable of fully representing the Divinity, so, by analogy, a man of faith cannot be fully defined. As the mystic St. John of the Cross once exclaimed, in this ascent of the soul “the higher one climbs, the less one understands”.
The heroes of the Faith overcome mere human delimitations.
To define etymologically means to put an end to, to determine the essence of something. However, the heroes of the Faith go beyond mere human delimitations. If they are characterized by charity as the bond of perfection (cf. Col 3:14), and if the measure of loving God consists in loving him without measure, the saints are immeasurable.
The results of their work are equally unfathomable. The lay brother Alfonso Rodríguez, for example, who was thought to be useless at the gate of a Jesuit college, was instrumental in fostering Saint Pedro Claver, the greatest evangelizer in Colombia, where he baptized three hundred thousand people. The fruits of the apostolate of a holy doorman are still being reaped in America today!
Moreover, the mission of the just is not consummated in this vale of tears. St. Therese of the Child Jesus rightly pointed out: “I do not die, but I enter into life”. And she added: “I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth”. In this land of exile, she wanted to fulfill the most varied vocations: missionary, doctor, prophetess, crusader… But in the end, she realized that only love could satisfy them all, precisely because it is eternal. In fact, “charity will never end” (1 Cor 13:8).
Would it be possible to define Msgr. João Scognamiglio Clá Dias?
On the other hand, could Monsignor João Scognamiglio Clá Dias be defined? It would seem so, because even the most preeminent men in history, despite their incomparable stature, have been “defined” in some way: Abraham received the epithet of “father of many nations” (Gen 17:5); the Baptist became known as “the man sent from God, whose name was John” (Jn 1:6); St. Paul called himself “Apostle of Jesus Christ” (II Tim 1:1).
After the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, such apologies were often consecrated as epitaphs. Of St. Benedict of Norcia it says: “There was a venerable man, Benedict by name and by grace”. On the tombstone of St. Anthony of Santana Galvão, the eulogy is recorded: “A man who had his soul in his hands”. Against a narrow view of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure attributed to him the appanage of an “angelic man”. For John of Austria, the illustrious Spanish commander at the Battle of Lepanto, the phrase applied to John the Baptist is repeated, since he was the Precursor’s namesake and effectively “sent by God”.
Without fear of exaggeration, all these predicates could be attributed mutatis mutandis to the founder of the Heralds of the Gospel. The very title of this issue also sums up something of his essence: “A pillar in the temple of my God” (Rev 3:12). Not only because, amid the debacle of today’s society and almost endemic infidelity within the Holy Church, he maintained an unwavering adherence to truth and virtue, but also because, like the pillar of cloud and fire that led the Israelites in the desert (cf. Ex 13:21), he led a multitude of disciples on the right path. Furthermore, like a military pillar, he fought the good fight, completed his career, and kept the faith (cf. II Tim 4:7).
He carried his cross as Jesus wanted, for the love of Him and the love of His Mother, to the very end.
It was in this key of battle that Msgr. João’s teacher and inspiration, Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, imagined that one day his vocation would be summed up, extended by participation to his disciples: “Everything is a struggle for me”. And if that were to be the case, one could add: “All is glory to him”.
Contrary to a pusillanimous view, such glory is the result of the triumph guaranteed by Our Lady, even after the setbacks of our trajectory in the Church Militant. That’s why Dr. Plinio wrote a beautiful epitaph for those who persevered to the end: “Here lies so-and-so, the man whom Our Lady looked at in the hour of his affliction and who said ‘yes’”.
Also from this perspective, Dr. Plinio imagined another epitaph for a later faithful disciple: “He carried his cross as Jesus wanted, for love of Him and love of His Mother, to the end”. And if the intention was to highlight the dedication of a slave of Mary’s, it could also be summed up in the expression: “His great aim was to serve”. Both descriptions are well suited to the figure of Msgr. John: an alter Christus crucifixus, who offered his life generously for the Church and his spiritual children, especially after the stroke he suffered in 2010.
However, if we were to look for a more synthetic summary of his mission, we could recall the following words from Dr. Plinio: “If someone were to ask me ‘What do you want as an epitaph for your life?’, I would say: ‘Just put it: I lived. It’s over.
This passage fits in perfectly with the life of the founder of the Heralds of the Gospel. In fact, he lived a full, holy, and generous life, bringing together in some way all the attributes mentioned above, as well as those that continue to spring from the heart of each of his spiritual children. The greatest panegyric of Msgr. John’s life was his own. That’s why he could forever proclaim: “I have lived… and I will continue to live”.
Compiled by Dominic Joseph