The Vocation Story of Fr. Bruno Rampazzo, RCJ

Being Open to the Call
“I liked our parish priest,” Fr. Bruno explained about his main influence why he entered the seminary. “He was a person who took care of us.”

So when Don Antonio, the parish priest, asked if he would be interested to join the seminary, Fr. Bruno said yes. The place was just 18 kilometers away from home and his parents were allowed to visit once a month. (The Italian system required that those who seek the religious life enter at the minor seminary level.) After two weeks in the seminary, Fr. Bruno tried to find an excuse in order to go home saying he had some commitment to attend to, struck as he was by homesickness.  His father’s serious talk with him during his parents’ visit, exhorting the boy “to finish what you have started,” changed Fr. Bruno’s mind about leaving.

Even as he opened himself to the call, Fr. Bruno still experienced going through a period, especially during his teenage years, when he questioned the life that he had chosen. He even postponed his final decision to become a priest.

Turning Point
The turning point for Fr. Bruno came during his one-year pastoral year in Palermo, about 1500 kilometers away. He was then 23 years old and assigned to teach 32 young boys in a minor seminary. “It was a very hard experience,” shared Fr. Bruno. “I couldn’t understand their dialect. Their mentality was very different.” But it was also a time of growth for him. “It made me convinced that this is my life,” Fr. Bruno reflected. “The experience grounded me. It pushed me to give the best.” He added, “It is in difficulty you find what is valuable to you.”
The time of maturity was sealed on September 8, 1981 when Fr. Bruno had his perpetual profession. “I felt a sense of fulfillment,” he said. “I became a part definitely of a family.” For Fr. Bruno, becoming part of a family was something “that my family set — never getting angry with each other.”

He was ordained 25 years ago this month on June 29, 1984. “I was so happy and tense,” Fr. Bruno said. “I realized how great the gift that has been given to me. I thought then that it must be for others and that I must be like Him.”

Purifying Journey
A new challenge met Fr. Bruno when he was assigned to the Philippines after two years as a priest. When the offer came a year before his actual leave-taking, he gave three reasons why he couldn’t go: “My mother is getting old. I haven’t finished my Licentiate in Theology and I’d never thought I’d go to mission.” The Rogationist community allowed him to finish his Licentiate but a year later, on May 14, 1987, Fr. Bruno landed on Philippine soil amidst fears and apprehensions. Reflecting on the experience, Fr. Bruno shared, “It is in accepting the journey to purify myself that I become more like Jesus.”

“Feeling totally alone” and not being able to speak English, Fr. Bruno studied English in a local school. As part of his phase-in period, he lived with Franciscans who only spoke English to him which forced him to learn the language. He had his experience of the country when he traveled all over the Philippines in his first assignment as vocation promoter. His move to Silang, Cavite after one year to work with the orphans there proved something to Fr. Bruno. “I didn’t want to go there. I was disappointed to go there,” he shared. But again, the difficult experience proved to be a blessing. “I realized that when we accept to do things, new horizons are opened,” he said.

Fr. Bruno became Prefect, Superior and then later Rector of the Saint Anthony Boys’ Village and Rogationist College in his 10-year stay in Cavite. In working with abused boys and street children ages 10 to 15 years old, Fr. Bruno shared, “I learned a lot in being with these boys. I learned that life is not as I look at it. They taught me courage and the capacity to smile.”

Falling in Love
Since 1999, Fr. Bruno has served as Major Superior of the Rogationists of the Philippine delegation, which also includes Korea, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. He has carried his initial lesson of family from his boyhood into his present task. “The most important thing which I tried to do is to foster fraternal relationship,” he explained. “What matters is that we’re all brothers. I could have done more to the organization. But I tried to stress brotherhood.”

After 25 years as a priest, Fr. Bruno has many reflections. “You should not be afraid to say yes.” He said, “Your life after Jesus is yes.” He added, “You must be generous and trust always in the Lord. You must approach everything with compassion, even yourself. And overcome routine with zeal.” Fr. Bruno closed, “All must be an expression of one thing — of falling in love with Jesus Christ.”