Flavia Franzoni always chose to look
at the world through the eyes of the poor, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
told mourners at the funeral of former premier Romano Prodi's
wife in Bologna on Friday following her sudden death on Tuesday
aged 76.
In his homily in the church of San Giovanni in Monte, the
archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops'
Conference paid homage to Franzoni's "great civic passion for
health and social services, united with the human community",
adding that this is what makes a city "home".
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore expressed similar sentiments,
highlighting how much Franzoni, who was a social science
lecturer at Bologna University and a refined intellectual, had
given the city, working together with the local civil society
and city administration to "make it fairer and more inclusive".
"Flavia smiled at me for the last time on the path between
Gubbio and Assisi, after two days of pure happiness in the
company of our dear friends," said Prodi at the end of the
ceremony, in reference to his wife's last moments before falling
suddenly with a suspected heart attack on Tuesday while walking
along a Franciscan trail in Umbria with friends including former
minister Arturo Parisi.
She and 83-year-old Prodi had been married since 1969 and have
two sons, Giorgio and Antonio.
The former centre-left premier and former president of the
European Commission recalled their 54 years "always together, in
many moments of joy and also in pain, in sickness and in
health".
"To the 54 years, I would also like to add the two years of
courtship, even a little more," he continued.
"Not once did I regret having insisted so much."
In a handwritten message of condolences to Prodi dated June 14
and made public on Thursday, Pope Francis said he was "convinced
that after more than 50 years of marriage you will know how to
take up Flavia's legacy of faith and fortitude by continuing to
bear witness, in her living memory, to the beauty of the bond of
love that held you together".
Franzoni will be buried in the Prodi family tomb in San Ruffino
cemetery in the province of Reggio Emilia.
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