Francesco Bonifacio - Early Life

Early Life

Francesco (Checco) Bonifacio was born in Pirano, Istria which was then part of Austria Hungary, later Italy, now is part of Slovenia. He was the son of Giovanni Bonifacio, a sailor in a Trieste and Istria sailing company, and of Luigia Busdon, a housewife. He was the second of seven children of a poor family. His father was away much of the time, and therefore the education of the family laid almost entirely his mother’s shoulders. Due to their poor income she was forced to take up a job as a cleaning lady, into the wealthiest family houses. However the family lived in poverty with high dignity. Later, when he had already became a priest would write in a letter to his mother..” What the Lord gives us, must be taken without questioning, because it was meant for our benefit.”

He learned the fundamentals at the local elementary school of Pirano and, received Christian learning at the local parish of San Francesco where he had served as an altar boy. Like the rest of his family he was a devoted Catholic but not a fanatic.