Baptism and Church Membership
On 13 February 1949, Di Francesca sent a letter to Widtsoe at LDS Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Widtsoe answered his letter on 3 October 1950, explaining that he had been in Norway. Di Francesca expressed a desire to be baptized. Widtsoe asked Samuel E. Bringhurst, the president of the church's Swiss–Austrian Mission, to go to Sicily to baptize Di Francesca.
On 18 January 1951, Bringhurst arrived on the island to baptize Di Francesca at Imerese. This was the first baptism performed in Sicily for the LDS Church. When Di Francesca came up out of the water, he said, “I have prayed daily for many years for this moment. My dear Brother and Sister Bringhurst—you can hardly imagine how sweet those words brother and sister are to me. I say them with a feeling of affection and appreciation that I have never before experienced, for I know that you have led me through the door that will eventually bring me back to my Heavenly Father, if I am faithful.”
On 28 April 1956, Di Francesca entered the LDS Church's Swiss Temple and received his endowment. After entering the temple, he said, “At last, to be in the presence of my Heavenly Father! I felt that God’s promise had been fully fulfilled—the day had come indeed when the book would be no more unknown to me and I would be able to enjoy the effects of my faith.”
Di Francesca died at Gesta Gratten (Palermo), Italy.
In 1965, Ortho R. Fairbanks was in Italy doing a study of sculpture and was able to obtain a copy of Di Francesca's story which he then gave to the Improvement Era, which was the first to print it. It was later adapted into the film How Rare a Possession by the LDS Church.
Read more about this topic: Vincenzo Di Francesca
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