Add the Gazzetta del Sud as a source
Hundreds of flowers, white and pink roses, a sign of that beauty linked to youth, which not even violent and sudden death can break. The Cathedral of Messina was filled with pain, silence and emotion for the final farewell to Rebecca Galli, the 17-year-old student who died after the very serious injuries sustained in the car accident which occurred on 24 September on the new Via Don Blasco.
Gathering around the family were relatives, friends, acquaintances and many young people including friends and classmates together with the teachers and the director of the Archimede high school, where the girl attended the fourth linguistic high school. The classmates all present with t-shirts with Rebecca’s photo and a blue rose in their hands; in the front row, next to her family, was the physical education teacher Giusy Morsicato, who was particularly close and attached to the 17-year-old.
A large and composed presence, testimony to the girl’s deep bond with the school community and with those who had shared the daily life of her teenage years with her.
Presiding over the funeral were Father Francesco Narcisi, parish priest of the church of San Domenico, the parish community to which the Galli family belongs. It was he who accompanied the family and those present in the moment of the last farewell, gathering in the celebration the pain for a life cut short so prematurely. Councilor Massimo Finocchiaro was present, representing the mayor Federico Basile, who met Rebecca’s family confidentially before the celebration.
Father Narcisi’s homily
There are days when words are needed and days when any word seems too small: faced with the death of a 17-year-old girl there are no right words. 17 years is too young. A mother and father shouldn’t greet their daughter like that. Today I don’t want to try to explain what I can’t explain. Two weeks ago we were together for the wedding of Giusy, her sister, and Nanny, and the baptism of our nephew Kevin. Then, Thursday afternoon the news. Why her, why like this? I have no answers, the Christian faith does not oblige us to give explanations for every pain, it does not ask us to call a death just which is instead terribly unjust.
Jesus cries: God does not look at the tears of mother Rossella and father Mario from afar, nor those of his friends; God enters into man’s tears and cries.
Anyone who knew Rebecca knew how much she loved English. She liked travelling, experiencing new worlds, meeting different people. She wanted to cross distances by crossing the worlds of others. Today we are the ones who have to learn the language of absence: in her name without her answering, in her smile without seeing her come through the door anymore. She was cheerful, she loved being with her family, her beloved grandmother, her friends. And in class he always repeated a phrase: “always believe in yourself, bring your ideas forward”. To you guys I say cry for Rebecca, don’t be ashamed of it, but don’t let her death make you love life less; love more, don’t wait until tomorrow to tell someone you love them, take care of each other, travel, study, love, defend your ideas. In a word: live, also to honor that life that we would have liked to see continue today. To you parents I say that we will never leave you alone, your pain will be that of our community.
The tragic accident
Rebecca died on 25 September at the Messina Polyclinic, where she had been admitted to intensive care after the accident. The young woman was traveling as a passenger on a scooter driven by a sixteen-year-old when the vehicle collided with a Volkswagen Taigo in the stretch of via Don Blasco between the roundabouts of viale Europa and via Santa Cecilia. The dynamics of the accident are still being examined by investigators. Investigations by the municipal police and the prosecutor’s office are underway to precisely reconstruct the sequence of the collision and establish any responsibilities.
The news of Rebecca’s death had deeply affected Archimede high school. In the following days, friends and classmates expressed their grief, while the entire school community rallied around the family.