Antonelli’s service to be remembered

Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez said the dedication and service of Monsignor Louis Antonelli will be remembered by everyone who met him while he was pastor of the San Francisco de Borja and San Isidro parishes. Antonelli, who celebrated his 100th birthday in September last year, died Tuesday night at the Rota Health Center in Songsong. The cause of death was not immediately known.

The Pennsylvania-native was ordained a priest when he was 30 years old. For the next 70 years, he faithfully executed his duties in the priesthood, which included 46 years of serving the people of Rota.

“With deep sorrow I received the news [Tuesday], of the death of Msgr. Antonelli, retired clergy of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. His commitment to remain in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, and to be with the people of Rota through his retirement, surpasses any known clergy service record in the Commonwealth,” said Jimenez in a statement.

One of Antonelli’s last requests was to have his remains buried within 24 hours after his death. A Mass in his honor was held at 1pm yesterday at the San Isidro Church in Sinapalo and he was buried at the Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Patten Gogue, Rota.

Jimenez said a Tridentine Mass—a Mass in Latin—will be held at the place of Antonelli’s burial on the ninth day after his passing. The time will be determined and announced at a later date.

In a joint statement, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, along with their families, also extended their condolences to the people of Rota and the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa.

“For almost half his life, Pale Antonelli served the people of Rota and provided spiritual guidance to everyone he had met. Everyone in the CNMI knew who Pale Antonelli was. We live on different islands, but we know how much he meant to the people of Rota and for the Marianas as a whole,” said the statement.

“He lived a simple life, but had a profound impact on the people of Rota. We join them and the rest of the Commonwealth in mourning the loss of a servant of God who has shaped the course of our Commonwealth from the very beginning. May he rest in peace.”

In a separate statement, Rep. L.J. Castro (R-Saipan) joined the people of Rota in mourning the death of Antonelli, whom he said tended to the Catholic faithful of the CNMI’s southernmost island even though he was already in his 90s.

“He was both a spiritual leader and [an] island institution, someone who had a profound impact on many generations of Rota’s residents. His leadership was instrumental in the formation and spiritual development of our current bishop [Jimenez], and Rota’s first and only homegrown priest, Fr. Isaac Ayuyu,” said Castro.

Monsignor Louis Antonelli

“His great humility and devotion to his ministry compelled the late St. Pope John Paul II to elevate him to the rank of monsignor, the first and only priest of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa to receive the honor after the diocese’s formation.”

Castro said he always looked forward to meeting Antonelli whenever he was on Saipan. “Even into his retirement, he continued to preach the Good News to the faithful from his chapel at his beloved farm. As a child, I fondly looked forward to receiving the famous ‘Pennsylvania Punch’ from him when he would fly up for Christmas Mass, with the both of us sharing smiles afterwards.”

“With his passing, the diocese, Luta, and the Marianas have lost a pillar of faith and an important figurehead in the growth of the Catholic Church on our islands. My condolences to Bishop Ryan and the clergy, along with those whose lives he touched for the loss of ‘i Påle Luta’, a treasured part of the island’s religious and cultural history.”

Antonelli, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata or Stigmatines founded by Gaspar Bertoni, helped establish the Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja in 1989.