Pope Francis called Gino Cecchettin,
the father of the 22-year-old biomedical engineering student
Giulia who was kidnapped and murdered by her former boyfriend
Filippo Turetta on November 11, 2023, in a case that shocked the
nation, to express his closeness and support, it emerged on
Tuesday.
Cecchettin made the revelation during a presentation of his book
'Dear Giulia' at the Verdi theatre in Padua.
He said the call was put through by Italian Episcopal Conference
President Cardinal Matteo Zuppi.
"He was the one who called me, saying: 'I'll put you through to
the Holy Father'," said Cecchettin.
The father of three who lost his wife the year before Giulia was
brutally killed said he has a "somewhat equivocal relationship
with the 'upstairs'", but that the pope nonetheless "represents
two billion people".
"When you hear his words you feel two billion people patting you
on the back and supporting you. That is a gift," he said.
The proceeds from the book will support awareness-raising and
relationship education in schools as part of broad efforts,
driven in part by Giulia's death, to address the issue of
gender-based violence including femicide in Italy.
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