Enzo Bianchi, founder of the monastic community of Bose, has died

Enzo Bianchi, the founder of the monastic community of Bose founded in 1965 in the Biella area, has died at the age of 83. Monk, prolific essayist, expert in the Holy Scriptures, founder of Edizioni Qiqajon, Bianchi left the leadership of the monastic community of which he was prior in 2017. Since then he had gradually retired also due to health problems. Born in 1943 in Castel Boglione, in the Asti area, he was a spiritual point of reference for entire generations.

An important figure in the post-Vatican II period, a recognized man of prayer and peace, Bianchi last appeared on the public scene last May when in Turin he presented a volume by Father Antonio Spadaro, secretary of the Vatican Dicastery of Culture and former director of Civiltà Cattolica. In recent times he had dealt, among others, with the theme of the mass with the ancient rite, debating with other theologians and church historians while always maintaining positions in defense of the Council and its reforms.

In 2017 he had suffered greatly from the conflict that arose with Pope Francis who wanted a physiological change at the leadership of the Community to avoid what according to Bergoglio were excessive concentrations of power. After a long back and forth he finally decided to obey the Pontiff and then founded a new community, the Casa di Madia in Albiano d'Ivrea, remaining a point of reference for the progressive Church with numerous interventions in the media, in particular in the newspaper La Stampa.