Author: Salesian Missions

Publication Date: January 08, 2019

(Crux/Catholic News Agency) The pilot bishop of the South Pacific

GIZO, Solomon Islands

Jan. 8, 2019

Known as the “flying bishop” of Solomon Islands, Bishop Luciano Capelli visits Catholics across dozens of islands by piloting a small airplane he also uses to deliver food and medicine.

Capelli, an Italian, was a Salesian missionary in the Philippines for 35 years before coming to the Diocese of Gizo in October 2007. He arrived six months after an earthquake destroyed homes, schools, and churches across the Solomon Islands, a nation of nearly 1,000 islands in Oceania…

…In the plane, which he himself has piloted since 2011, he visits hospitals, schools and communities, bringing medicine and basic necessities.

Read the full article Catholic News Agency in Crux.