Francesco Bonifacio
In 1924, Bonifacio entered the seminary in Capodistria-Koper,[1] where he earned the nickname of El Santin (the little Saint) for his obedience, meekness, service, and availability to his companions.
A few months later he was assigned as vicar at Cittanova d'Istria,[1] where he created the local section of the Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action).
On 13 July 1939, Bishop of Trieste Antonio Santin appointed Bonifacio curate of Villa Gardossi or Crassizza (now Krasica), a small borough located in the Buiese between Buie and Grisignana.
The community was made up of a few small villages, (Baredine, Punta, Lozzari, Buzzai, Gardossi, Monte Cini, Musolini, Stazia Loy, Costellaz, Braichi and Radani), and had a population of 1300 people, most of them peasants.
Don Francesco continued his routine of service to his community, but faced this new situation with great energy and extreme courage.
He prevented a protest at the Fascist Headquarters in Buie after the murder of a peasant, and saved from a Partisan firing squad a man they believed to be a German informer.
At this time Yugoslav communism was modelled on the Soviet style, and along with the usual violence, they were also trained in the use of misinformation, propaganda and false accusations.
He travelled to Trieste to consult with his bishop who advised him to be cautious and to limit his activities to within the church, avoiding any public stance.
He confided to fellow priest, Don Guido Bertuzzo, the Sicciole's Chaplain, that even talking on the streets had become very dangerous for him since he was under strict surveillance.
When his brother went to ask for information from the local "Popular Militia" (Communist Police) he was arrested on accusation of spreading false and anticommunist propaganda.
The fate of Father (Don) Francesco Bonifacio was not the only violence committed against the Catholic Church of the former Italian territories ceded to Yugoslavia in 1945.
[3] The then Bishop of Trieste Antonio Santin, born in Rovigno now Rovinj in Croatia, first submitted the proposal for the beatification of Don Francesco Bonifacio back in 1957.
Right-wing media accuse the left of attempting to downplay the massacres while focusing attention on crimes committed by the Fascists.
[6] Bonifacio and his martyrdom at the hands of Communists, has become an important symbol of the story of the Foibe and the exodus of Italians from Istria.
However, in the feuilleton Istarski Svecenici - Ratne i Poratne Zrtve (Istrian priests–war and post-war victims), published in the monthly “Ladonja” in August 2005, Ivan Grah wrote about Francesco Bonifacio.
The following day, 11 September, in the evening, the Popular Guard was waiting for him as he returned home on foot from Groznjan and, after a crabbed discussion, he was coercively taken away.
Giacomo Scotti a great expert on this topic in Croatia and Italy wrote: “As soon as I started writing about the beatification of Don Bonifacio being held in Trieste and about the murder, I stated that this priest is not present on the list of foibe victims.
The League of Anti-fascist Fighters told me that Don Bonifacio went missing in September 1946, and that there is no information on his murder or on his death in a pit.
