Continued from the account of Fr. Giuseppe Gambari, OFM Conventual:
"Having returned to the convent , Father Faccenda spent some months with me in Faenza, from July 1944 to June 1945. The situation was tragic. We were only three in the convent. It was impossible to keep track of the bombings and gunning, day and night, mostly aimed at the columns of German soldiers who passed along the via Emilia, rather close to us.
We had about one hundred persons, men and women, elderly and children, young fugitives from the army, each one taking refuge in the convent. They slept on the stairs of the bell tower, in the choir stalls, or on the pews of the church. From October to December we gave each one a bowl of hot soup.
At the frequent visits of the Germans who looked for able-bodied men and women for labor and office work, they were never able to find anyone. At the given signal each one would flee along safe routes or hide themselves. In this way we were able to save everyone, always. Father Faccenda welcomed also members of the resistence, they arrived in the evening and left early the next morning. He acted with politeness, prudence, and silence."
Taken from "A Man, A Dream, A Story" (Edizione Dell'Immacolata)
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