Love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus says. I only have one neighbor, you Girolamo.
With Girolamo, I spent many a simple, serene hour. We didn't need to do grandiose things in order to be happy. We didn't need to make grand speeches, because between friends, silence is golden. Why I did ask you all here today in memory of Girolamo? To repair an injustice. Because I am the only one who had the great good fortune of spending time with hime. I intend to right that wrong, which means I need to tell you who Girolamo is.
Girolamo is the world that suffers. Girolamo is grace. Girolamo is goodness and virtue. Girolamo, I say this for all of you who were not fortunate enough to know him, is kind and cheerful, joyous, and full of life. You are probably wondering what does Girolamo like to do. Girolamo loves to talk, but he also likes to listen, and to give me advice. He likes to watch TV and to listen to the radio together with me. Girolamo loves to run and dance, to walk and sing and pray. He loves to swim at the sunset, and flirt with the girls, because Girolamo is a good looking boy and he loves to give them flowers, because Girolamo loves kindness.
Girolamo is everything we are not. Which is why we have gathered here today to celebrate him. Because we are not like him, and because we would like to be. Which is why we contemplate and adore him. Because Girolamo knows how to love, and how to be a true friend. Which is why his friends have come here today and why there are so many. Girolamo is a moral guide, which is why the leaders of his country are all here today. Girolamo, my brothers and sisters, is a saint, which is why the pope himself wanted to say mass today.
Girolamo is the world that suffers. Girolamo is the world that loves. And I thank God for giving me the extraordinary opportunity to be his best friend. Thank you, Girolamo. You, and only you, who knew intimately the anguish of suffering, the beauty of sacrifice, and the power of love. I will never forget you, Girolamo. Never.
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