Mortuary letters from the memory of father educator João Pian (1898-1980): reflections on the celebration of life and death

Abstract

We analyze the mortuary letters of Salesian priests, through which their memories, methods, history, and religious journey can be characterized. The lives of Salesian priests have been underexplored in educational history research, and mortuary letters reveal how the Salesian chose to pay tribute to the lives of their priest educators and evangelists. We do this by analyzing the mortuary letters of Father João Pian (1898-1980), a Salesian educational priest from the former Southern Mato Grosso region, separately examining his institutional and private memories. The theoretical and methodological framework that underpins our studies come from the theorist Michel Foucault. To achieve this, we employ the method of analyzing primary sources of mortuary letters, which, like any source, must be approached with care, given that they were written by other priests with the intent of honoring these men who dedicated their lives to the Catholic Church and Don Bosco (1815-1888). Mortuary letters can offer significant elements for reflecting upon the relationships and practices of the Salesians. The mortuary letters take on a laudatory tone, and from this perspective, it is pertinent to deconstruct it to a more objective narrative.