The history begins in 1965 when don Massimo Astrua was sent to the parish of Pessano. The parish priest of the church was don Angelo Albani. He worked as chaplain at the Carlo Gnocchi Institute in Pessano. Most of his time he devoted to help the sick, elderly, orphans and above all – the disabled young people under the care of the Institute.
The idea of the publishing house was born from the passion shared by the two priests: the passion for preaching the Gospel in print. They were also very much concerned about the good future of young people with disabilities.
The Loretto nuns arrived in Pessano to help with the publishing house in 1980. It was the fruit of a meeting in a private audience with Pope John Paul II. With his blessing, the two sisters begin working with priests.
At first, the parish premises were sufficient. After some time, it was necessary to think about building a new house for the sisters. The building was built in 1988 and more are more sisters started to work there.
Together with Fr. Massimo who was passionate about using the new publishing techniques to evangelise, the sisters learnt new things. They were scanning and processing photos. They learned how to use the new software, prepare videotapes, make films and also how to use the new printing and binding machines. They were also constantly improving their language skills.
The soul of the Mimep-Docete Publishing House was undoubtedly Fr. Massimo who wrote many texts, coordinated the work in receiving publications from outside and charted new interesting directions for the publishing house. He was a father to the sisters who supported them in difficult moments. He lifted their spirits and advised them in their spiritual life. Fr. Angelo always remained Fr. Massimo’s friend-consultant in many interesting publishing ideas.
Please visit the website in Italian and the social media where the publishing house is present.
