【austraLasia ─ 2009年4月28日羅馬訊】──現年八十二歲的恩彌道(Gianetto)神父說：「阿爾伯神父(Albert Caviglia, 1868-1943)揀選我為聖多明我沙維豪的模特兒。當我被領到他一位藝術家朋友那裡時，我不知道是甚麼一回事。」恩彌道神父是一位退休的教理教學法教授，他回想起一九四零年所發生的事，而所指的藝術家朋友就是後來成為廿世紀意大利藝術家的Mario Caffaro-Rore教授 (1910-2001) ，他是阿爾伯神父在杜林美術學院任教時的學生。
恩彌道神父懷著謙遜，展示一本由慈幼宗座大學Cosimo
Semeraro教授所著，名為《Albert
Caviglia》的書，裡面一則兩頁的故事。（杜林，SEO，1994，第158至161頁）他說：「事實上，我只是二線模特兒。真正的模特兒是由藝術家Carlo
Tomatis所繪畫的一幅，而我的面容只是作為畫家的輔助而已。」
恩彌道神父憶述說：「整件事情似乎是一宗私事，也沒有人知道這件事。有一天，畫家來了，領我到一個空教室，用鉛筆為我作了兩幅臉部的素描。我收藏了素描的副印本。我根本不知道這有什麼用。我沒有特別的感覺，這對我來說是很平常的一件事。」
阿爾伯神父是一位研究鮑思高的歷史學家，受委托完成「新」多明我沙維豪畫像。他相信列品案申請人Stefano Trione神父所宣揚的沙維豪肖象，是一個歷史的錯誤。因此，新肖象是以聖鮑思高所著的《小聖人傳記》，以及封聖過程所收集的見證人記述為基礎。
順帶一提，一九五零年三月五日，年輕的恩彌道要留在杜林打理院舍，而他的朋友及長上則前往羅馬，出席多明我沙維豪冊封真福品儀式。出席一九五四年六月十二日舉行的封聖儀式，他亦沒有獲得優待。即使於二零零四年八月三十一日，在慈幼宗座大學舉行沙維豪封聖金禧紀念時，恩彌道的故事，也自然地被遺忘了，沒有提及。
恩彌道說：「我重申，這（模特兒的故事）並沒有影響我的聖召。那時，我沒打算成為慈幼會士。我只是慈幼會學校一個平凡、開朗的學生。我的聖召是截然不同的事。」他欽佩聖多明我沙維豪，不斷向他祈禱，使自己堪當成為慈幼會士。目前，恩彌道神父每天花上九小時，在慈幼宗座大學教授六名中國籍學生意大利語及改正他們的作業。
(插圖：恩彌道(Gianetto)神父、Caffaro-Rore描繪的傳統多明我沙維豪畫像及當年的素描。)
The face that launched St Dominic Savio
( austraLasia - ROME: 28th April 2009 ) -- "It was Fr Albert Caviglia who chose me to be the model for Dominic Savio. I had no idea when I was sent to his artist friend", says 82 year old Father Gianetto, retired professor of Catechetics, recalling the 1940 session with an upcoming 20th Century Italian artist, Prof. Mario Caffaro-Rore (1910-2001), a student of Caviglia's who taught at the Academia di Belle Arti of Turin.
"The truth is I was only a second level model. The real model was the drawing by artist Carlo Tomatis. My face was only an additional help for the painter", reminds Father Gianetto with all modesty, showing the two-page story told in the book entitled Alberto Caviglia by UPS Prof. Cosimo Semeraro (Torino, SEO, 1994, at pp. 158-161).
"The whole thing was quite a private affair. No one knew of it. One day the painter came, took me to an empty classroom and made two sketches of my face with a pencil. I have photocopies of them. I barely knew about the purpose of it. I had no particular feelings. It was quite an ordinary affair for me", says Gianetto commenting on the event.
Fr Caviglia (1868-1943), a Don Bosco historian, commissioned the 'new' portrait of Dominic Savio. He believed the Savio image propagated by the postulator of the Cause, Fr. Stefano Trione, was an historical falsification. Hence, the new image was done on the basis of Don Bosco's little biography of the boy Saint as well as eyewitness accounts gathered for the process of Canonisation.
Incidentally, young Gianetto had to stay back in Turin to mind the house while his companions and the superiors went to Rome for the Beatification of Dominic Savio on 5th March 1950. He also did not have the privilege of attending the Canonisation on 12th June 1954. Gianetto's story was conveniently forgotten even at Savio's Canonisation Golden Jubilee held at the UPS May 8-31 2004.
"I may add that this (modelling episode) had no influence on my vocation. At that time I did not intend to become a Salesian. I was an ordinary, happy student in a Salesian school. My vocation is an entirely different affair", syas Gianetto, an admirer of Dominic Savio who continually prays to him that he may not be an unworthy Salesian. Currently Fr Gianetto puts in about nine hours daily to help six Chinese students at the UPS with Italian language coaching and corrections.
See the following link for a photo of Gianetto with his sketch and the traditional Caffaro-Rore depiction: http://sdl.sdb.org/gsdl/collect/dbscritt/index/assoc/HASH1739.dir/saviogianetto.jpg