The East Asia Delegation of the Claretian Missionaries mourns the passing of Fr. Mario Vincenzo Bonfaini, CMF, on October 8, 2025, at 11:00 AM (Macau time). He was a most generous shepherd who spent a lot of his time in the confessional forgiving sins and savings souls for God, a man with deep love for China, a courageous missionary.
Fr. Mario Vincenzo Bonfaini was born to Catholic parents, Bonfaini Mario and Olympia Mario, on May 19, 1939, in Pozzolengo, Italy. He was the tenth child of a family whose heart beat with Marian devotion. Mario was named in honor of the Blessed Virgin—a name chosen with hope and reverence by his father, who had said, “If it’s a boy, we call him Mario; if it’s a girl, Maria.” That hope, rooted in faith, would blossom into a vocation that spanned continents and decades.
From his earliest years, Mario was captivated by the mission of the Church in China. As a child, he pored over Franciscan brochures depicting the China mission, dreaming of one day walking those distant roads. He initially joined the Franciscan seminary for children, but due to health challenges, he had to leave. Yet the fire never dimmed. He later found his spiritual home among the Claretians. He made his Initial Profession on July 16, 1958, and his Perpetual Profession on July 16, 1963. He was ordained to the Priesthood on September 17, 1967.
After a period of learning English in Oxford, he was assigned to Japan, where he arrived on 28 February 1968. Mario worked for sometime in the Claretian parish in Osaka, but most of his time was spent in the kindergarten, where he was instrumental in shaping the modern standards of Claretian kindergartens. His work was not confined to the classroom,but was rooted in a pastoral heart that beat for China. Even as he was in Japan, he kept visiting China, the original inspiration for his missionary vocation.
He then served for 19 years in Taiwan since 1994, where, after learning some Chinese, he ministered as a parish priest. Even after moving to Macau in 2013 and officially retiring, Fr. Mario never ceased to serve. He celebrated Mass for the Japanese community in Hong Kong and offered his presence and pastoral care at Saint Lawrence Church in Macau, especially through the sacrament of reconciliation.
But perhaps the most poignant chapter of his life was his quiet, determined reconnection with the Claretian legacy in China. Fr. Mario was instrumental in re-establishing ties with the erstwhile Claretian mission in Huangshan, Wuhu, and Shexian in Anhui Province. His love for China was not theoretical—it was lived, often at great personal risk. One of the most telling moments came when he carried the relics of Rafael Briega, a Claretian student in formation martyred for the faith in China. Denied entry on a previous attempt, Mario stood at immigration and whispered to the relics, “Rafael, you wanted to go to China. If I don’t go, you don’t go either.” He was allowed through.
He helped rebuild the Tunxi Church in Huangshan, and when government permission was finally granted, his response in broken but heartfelt Chinese was immediate: “Mashang kaishi”—start right away. That phrase became emblematic of his character. Fr. Mario was a man of readiness, of urgency in mission.
His love for the Eucharist was boundless. He would celebrate Mass again and again. When gently reminded that multiple Masses without pastoral necessity might not be canonical, he would smile and say, “God understands my need.”
Fr. Mario leaves behind no monuments, no memoirs, no grand declarations. But he leaves something far more enduring: lives touched, churches rebuilt, children formed, sins forgiven, and a mission rekindled.
As we commend him to the Lord, we remember the words of the Gospel he lived so well: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Fr. Bonfaini Mario, CMF—missionary, priest, brother, friend—pray for us.
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