OBITUARY - BISHOP CAMILLO BALLIN, MCCJ

About Bishop Camillo Ballin MCCJ

Bishop Camillo Ballan was born on June 24, 1944, in Fontaniva, Padua, Italy. 

He was ordained a priest of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus on March 30, 1969 at Castelleto sul Garda, Verona.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Ballin as (Fourth) Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait and assigned to him the Titular See of Arna. He joined the Vicariate on August 2, 2005. He was consecrated Bishop by His Eminence Crescenzio Cardinal Sepe at the Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City on September 2, 2005. 

On May 31, 2011, His Lordship Bishop Camillo Ballin became the first Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia covering the territories of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. His proficiency in Arabic helped him to establish good relations with the leaders of the Arab states and become a strong leader of the Catholic Church in the Gulf region. 

Bishop Camillo was called to his eternal abode on April 12, 2020 Easter Sunday. He was undergoing treatment in Rome since the last two months following diagnosis with cancer. 

Our beloved Bishop 

As an eminent personality living a simple and humble life, our beloved Bishop Camillo Ballin set a great example of how a missionary should be. He had a vision for spreading the Good News to everyone; in particular, it was his greatest priority to bring the inhabitants of this desert land to the kingdom of God.

Jesus Youth in Kuwait flourished under his guidance and how the movement in Kuwait is today, owes a great deal to the support received from our loving Bishop. He gave all the Jesus Youth in the country, a spirit of awareness and responsibility and guided us like a good shepherd. 

He believed in us and when speaking about Jesus Youth, he always used the term ‘courage’, asking us to build our courage using the six pillars that we practise. He was more like an older brother and called Jesus Youth his ‘mafia team’. Bishop shared his vision with us and continuously encouraged us to act - to bring “the Church to the labour camps and the labour camps to Church”. Mahesh Peter, Jesus Youth Kuwait

Bishop Camillo Ballin: A Good Shepherd, who accepted us, supported us, guided us, challenged us, nurtured us, taught us, heard us and above all loved us…

I, and a few Jesus Youth leaders, first met Bishop Camillo in November 2005 along with the former Bishop of Kuwait, Bishop Francis Micalef OCD. When Bishop Micalef introduced us to Bishop Camillo, he wholeheartedly blessed us and invited us to collaborate with him in the mission of the church.

In his inaugural speech for the national Jesus Youth Convention held in February 2006, Bishop Camillo said: “It is a pleasure to see so many young people gathered around Jesus. ‘Jesus Youth’ means ‘Youth for Jesus’. Live with Jesus and be a living witness for Jesus. Jesus is your best friend. I know you all pray well. However, in addition to prayers, we have to open our hearts to others as well. I invite you to open to Jesus and to open to everyone”. 

I remember another meeting we had with Bishop Camillo a few years back along with Manoj Sunny.  We were giving him updates about our activities, stating how Jesus Youth are active as choir members, catechism teachers, Eucharistic ministers, members of various Church committees etc. At this juncture, he interrupted our sharing, and turning to Manoj Sunny he asked, “What is the motto of Jesus Youth?” And Bishop helped him by prompting, “A missionary movement...” he quickly completed it saying, “at the service of the Church”. Bishop then turned towards us and said: “I thought you were my people to carry Jesus and his Church to the most difficult places - these labour camps and other remote areas; I thought that was your mission; I can get enough people here to sing in the choir, teach catechism and to do other things; but I wanted you to be my presence in those places where no one else can go or do anything.” We were deeply moved by his understanding of our call and mission in the Church as a private association.

He guided the movement with loving care and affection, not only in Kuwait but in other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries too. He was one of the first Bishops to write to the Holy See recommending Jesus Youth for pontifical approval.

He was a writer, missionary, and educator. Even though he was Italian, he was an Arabic scholar and in 2004, he published two of his many written works in Arabic: "The Ways of the Spirit" and "History of the Church". He loved everyone irrespective of their nationality, language, rite or position; regularly visiting each parish and meeting with all the communities, groups and ministries. He always listened to everyone patiently and guided them with his words of wisdom and encouragement. 

 Biju Antony, Animator, Jesus Youth International Council