Rino Senatore was born in Switzerland in 1969. He grew up there and, during his teenage years, went to study in Italy. At 18—against his mother’s wishes—he enlisted in the army and returned to civilian life in 1995.

With expertise in food and nutrition, he published the book “Convivium – the art of being at the table: history, habits, and traditions.” He later moved to Bologna, making food & beverage the core of his work.

Work-related travel took him to many countries, where he met countless people who shaped his open-mindedness and his curiosity for cultures and ways of life far from what we call “Western.” Three years in Japan profoundly changed him, and a tragic event—the sudden loss of his fiancée—marked his life deeply.

During a personal crisis, he first walked alongside the Oratorian Fathers and went on mission to understand the Catholic spirit more fully. He left behind work, possessions, and comfort to embrace service to those who suffer most.

He was ordained a deacon in a church with a Lefebvrist status, and later was admitted into the Roman Catholic Church through the penitentiary of the cathedral of Rimini. He joined the Catholic association “Pope John XXIII,” where he learned the life of a therapeutic community.

Transferred to the Diocese of Noto under the fatherly guidance of Bishop Staglianò, he spent one year in a small religious community and then lived at the cathedral, where he was entrusted with organizing and managing the “San Corrado” soup kitchen for the poor.

He asked the bishop for two years of grace as an “urban hermit,” under the careful guidance of the then Vicar General Mons. Angelo Giurdanella (today Bishop of Mazara del Vallo).

After that period, the Regular Clerics of the Somaschi Order invited him to a mission experience in Romania to support and accompany a priest. After two years, he asked the Bishop of Satu Mare for permission to open an association focused on protecting girls and children—the most vulnerable links in a society under heavy strain.

The “San Michele Arcangelo” house was opened: a protected home for girls who were abused, assaulted, mistreated, and trafficked, within the “Charity – Sobriety – Silence” association, of which he is still president. Over time, 260 girls were helped to escape inhumane situations; 9 live permanently in the house; there is financial, food, and clothing support for 37 young people with disabilities and for more than 220 families in need, along with first-aid interventions for street children.

The story continues…