Italian priest Don Giuseppe Berardelli gave up his ventilator to save the life of a younger person and died from the coronavirus, CBS News reported Tuesday.
The 72-year-old Berardelli, a priest for 47 years, was serving as the Archpriest of Casnigo in the Diocese of Bergamo in northern Italy, one of the regions hardest hit by the pandemic.
His parish had previously bought the ventilator to help Berardelli, because had been suffering from a respiratory condition.
"A great person," Clara Poli, the mayor of Fiorano, where Don Giuseppe was a longtime pastor, told FarodiRoma.
"He was always cheerful and full of enthusiasm, he gave peace and joy to our communities. He was a priest who listened to everyone, he knew how to listen, whoever turned to him knew that he could count on his help."
News of Berardelli's sacrifice has also gone viral on Twitter, such as someone from Chicago who wrote: "My extended family in Italy were very close with him. He was a father figure to my cousins after they lost their father very young. He was a very good man & is being mourned very hard by my family."
There have been at least 50 priests who have died of the coronavirus in Italy so far, according to BBC News.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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