Javier de Nicoló

Javier De Nicoló
Saverio De Nicoló
Personal life
Born	(1928-04-29)29 April 1928 Bari, Italy
Died	22 March 2016(2016-03-22) (aged 87) Bogotá, Colombia
Nationality	Colombian, Italian
Religious life
Religion	Roman Catholic
Institute	Salesians of Don Bosco
Profession	Salesian priest

Javier de Nicoló in 2013

Javier De Nicoló, (29 April 1928 – 22 March 2016) or Saverio (Javier) De Nicolò was an Italian-born Colombian salesian priest who developed a program that has offered more than 40,000 young people the education and moral support they needed to become productive citizens. Father Javier De Nicoló received countless distinctions. UNICEF was one of those who paid tribute to the father Javier De Nicoló. De Nicoló was awarded La Orden De Boyacá (Colombia's highest government honor).^[1]

Life

Javier de Nicoló was born in Bari, Italy in 1928, the youngest of six children in the family of de Nicolò Lattanzi.^[2] His father was wounded three times in World War I and died when Javier was still a child. During World War II, Javier pursued his vocational training in a slaughter- house, after bombing raids destroyed his high school.^[3] In October 1949, as a seminarian, Javier de Nicoló landed at Buenaventura, Colombia a year after the bogotazo. Javier de Nicoló was ordained priest on 28 October 1958.^[2]

Javier de Nicoló spent his life in the planning and implementation of projects for the rehabilitation and education of thousands of street children, especially in the cities of Bogotá, Bucaramanga and Barranquilla. He had a determination to live up to his resolution: "the best experience in the world is to serve humanity."^[3]

UNICEF published the book "Street children", about his work and life, which were honored in Washington, on October 25, 2001. Javier received the award "Ivy Humanitarian Prize ' a lifetime of humanitarian achievements", created to strengthen and differentiate those who have made great contributions to the well-being of children.^[4] Father Javier de Nicoló received countless distinctions such as the recognition made by the UNICEF and the award "Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity" by the Government of Italy.^[5]

De Nicoló directed both the government's Instituto Distrital para la Protección de la Niñez y la Juventud (IDIPRON) and the nongovernmental organization he had founded, Fundación Servicio de Orientación Juvenil (FSJ). IDIPRON helps children rescued from the streets.^[3]

Javier de Nicoló died in Bogotá on 22 March 2016.^[2]

See also

• Salesians of Don Bosco

References

1. "Colombia se siente orgullosa de contar con el padre Javier De Nicoló". presidencia.gov.co. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
2. "Colombia – "Thanks, Fr Javier, you changed our lives!". A memory of Fr de Nicolò". infoans.org. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
3. "First-class citizens: Father de Nicoló and the street kids of Colombia". iaf.gov. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
4. "Padre Javier de Nicolo, un santo contemporáneo". las2orillas.co. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
5. "Condecoración al padre Javier de Nicoló por su labor humanitaria y el programa Bosconia". valledelcauca.gov.co. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.