Another piece of Messina’s history that is going away: Msgr. died at the age of 84 after a long illness. Giovan Battista Impoco, historic parish priest of Gravitelli in via Pietro Castelli. Here he served the community for 58 years. A life spent with his people and for his people, always close to families, mothers, children, attentive to taking care of the little things; inextricably linked to Mary, Madonna delle Grazie, to whom the small church is dedicated which he himself had wanted to be renamed “delle Gravitelle”, canceling that topographical caesura between the lower and upper part of the district. In May 2023, a few days before the feast of the Madonna della Lettera, the topographical dedication: “Let’s not let devotion die, for us Messina people the bond with Mary is very important” said Mgr. Impoco to the then mayor Cateno De Luca.
Born in 1941, originally from the Camaro valley, he grew up in the city he has always loved; here, on 8 August 1967 in the Cathedral, he was ordained a priest by the laying on of hands of Archbishop Francesco Fasola together with his companions Michele Giacoppo, Pippo Insana, Pippo Principato, Salvatore Trifirò, Pietro Aliquò. All together, the “priests of ’67”, in August 2017 they celebrated half a century of ordination together with Pope Francis, concelebrating with him at the Santa Marta house in Rome. Here Mgr. Impoco had given Bergoglio the icon of the Madonna delle Gravitelle, asking for a special prayer for Messina and for the whole world. A cult that over the years he has cared for with great love, acting as a spokesperson for a fundamental message: “life is a very precious gift, like women, like Mary, it is up to us to always defend it, promoting the culture of non-violence”.
The ritual of blessing expectant mothers and children in the first year of life in September on the occasion of the solemnity of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the church field, was a fixed event for many families who also came from the province. This year too, even though he was physically trying, Father Giovanni was there to share “the joy of life” with everyone. Among the important initiatives promoted by him we cannot fail to mention the march for life, from Piazza Duomo to the church of Gravitelli, shared by many associations operating in the area; the latest edition last year. And he, who could no longer walk, had been accompanied in the car to see that procession leave and pray with everyone present. Monsignor Impoco was also the archbishop’s delegate for the brotherhoods for many years; a delicate task which he carried out by extolling the value of lay aggregations in the sign of devotion and proximity. He had also been an ecclesiastical assistant of the Italian Association of Catholic Teachers and of the Catholic Action Teachers Movement. Many people have supported him in recent years: from music masters Angelo Cannata and Massimiliano Calabrò, to prof. Nicola Antonazzo, their parishioners; to the priests of the Giovanni Sturiale pastoral unit of Montepiselli where Impoco had been parish priest for many years and Giuseppe Maio of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Gravitelli. He died at the Polyclinic, where he had been hospitalized since 9 October. In recent years, paralysis had forced him to a wheelchair and yet not even his infirmity had prevented him from approaching that canteen where he said mass every day accompanied by the deacon Salvatore Nolasco or other brothers; “He wanted to return to that church, his home, he wanted to embrace his people again,” said Mrs. Melina Trovato, who assisted him lovingly. The auxiliary bishop, Msgr., arrived to give him his blessing in the hospital. Cesare Di Pietro. “A priest who dedicated himself to his community, particularly close to the families of the sick. Capable of creating cohesion among pastoral workers”, said Don Maio. “I am grateful to him for the zeal with which he worked for us, spending himself in the ministry for the brotherhoods and pious associations of the archdiocese, always having the governors and management councils at heart,” added Don Enzo Majuri who took up the baton in the ministry. Tomorrow at 4pm the funeral will be celebrated in the Cathedral.