Paolo Ricca( 1936 – 2024)
Members of churches the world over – Waldensian, Protestant and Roman Catholic alike – were greatly saddened by Paolo Ricca’ s death. I was deeply affected since he had been like an older brother to me all my life, his mother being my godmother Armanda. He was also one of my Catechism teachers when he was junior minister in Turin, and when I grew up he became a very special friend.
After studying at the Waldensian Faculty of Theology( 1954 – 58), he studied in the US( 1958 – 59) and in Basel( 1959 – 61), where he also served as a minister for the Italian community that never forgot him and revered him forever. There he studied with Karl Barth and Oscar Cullmann who supervised his PhD on the IV Gospel. He was ordained at the 1962 Synod and served in Forano and Turin. The World Alliance of Reformed Churches designated him as their official reporter for the Second Vatican Council( 1962 – 65), for which he wrote a theological comment translated into various languages – he was fluent in French, English and German. This experience led him forever to strong ecumenical beliefs and activities. In 1976 the Waldensian Faculty of Theology made him their Professor of History of the Church and practical Theology until 2002. He wrote innumerable books, and prefaces to many more. For 40 years he was also the curator of the Martin Luther series published by Claudiana: number 20 will come out soon. He was part of a large number of associations, not just in Italy, like the World Council of Churches and held various honorary PhDs, Heidelberg included. In 2022 he was the
10