Italian priest with coronavirus who gave his ventilator to younger patient has reportedly died
An Italian priest who contracted the new coronavirus died after he gave up a ventilator so a younger patient could have one, local media reports say.
Don Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, was the archpriest of Casnigo, a town in northern Italy about 50 miles northeast of Milan.
According to Italian news site Prima Bergamo, Berardelli died sometime between March 15 and 16 and was being treated at a hospital in nearby Lovere, as his condition worsened.
A health care worker at the hospital told the Italian online news outlet Araberara that Berardelli was given a ventilator but the priest refused it so someone who was younger than him could use it.
In northern Italy, where Berardelli lived, health care professionals have struggled with limited resources to treat the mass influx of patients battling COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
According to a Johns Hopkins University tracker of the outbreak, there have been 63,927 known cases, leading to 6,077 known deaths, in Italy as of Tuesday.
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According to Vatican News, Berardelli greeted everyone with the phrase: "Pace e bene."
"He was a priest who listened to everyone, he knew how to listen, whoever turned to him knew that he could count on his help," Clara Poli, mayor of Fiorano, where Berardelli had been a parish priest, told Araberara, according to a translation.
He was an enthusiastic priest, often spotted on his red Guzzi motorcycle.
"He loved his motorbike, and when you saw him go by he was always cheerful," Poli told Araberara.
Prima Bergamo reported that Berardelli was born in Fonteno in 1947 and was ordained in 1973. In 2006, he became archpriest of Casnigo.
As reports of his death came across social media, many people, including clergy, praised his sacrifice.
"Don Giuseppe Berardelli, patron of those who suffer from coronavirus and all who care for them, pray for us!" tweeted the Rev. James Martin, who compared Berardelli to Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic saint who volunteered to die in place of a stranger during the Holocaust.
Fr. Giuseppe Berardelli, a 72-year-old priest who gave a respirator (that his parishioners had purchased for him), to a younger patient (whom he did not know), has died from #coronavirus.
"Greater love has no person..." (Jn 15:13) https://t.co/qXQ6knoE6n via @Araberara pic.twitter.com/uKxRNghire— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) March 24, 2020
This priest, Suffering from the coronavirus, gave up his ventilator to give to a younger patient and has died. His name was Don Giuseppe Berardelli. He was 72 years old, from Bergamo. pic.twitter.com/3N1ONtxFjO
— John Stone (@Johnthemadmonk) March 23, 2020
This was Don Giuseppe Berardelli.
Don Giuseppe was a priest who loved smiles and motorcycles. When he got infected, he let someone else use his respiratory unit. He died of #COVIDー19.
You may not believe in a god, but believe in this man's kindness and sacrifice. #StayAtHome pic.twitter.com/JrstirBJOC— Laura Ingallinella (@lauraingalli) March 23, 2020
Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19: Italian priest who donated his ventilator has reportedly died
