Meet our Twilight Family- Oggy and Alberic Share their Connection
The Twilight Buddy Program is part of our unique Twilight Family Model of Care. Every new resident is allocated a Buddy from the staff team to be a special person who will spend time getting to know the resident , supporting them to feel safe, secure, and comfortable in their new home. The Buddy also becomes a resident’s advocate, sharing what they learn about the individual likes, dislikes, needs and desires of the person, their history, which informs their present experiences, and what gives them feelings of purpose and joy.
Through the program, connections are made and real relationships are formed, creating lifelong friendships.
Thanks so much for sharing with us Oggy. What is your role at Twilight?
Personal Care and Laundry Assistant.
How long have you worked at Grace Gardens?
Since November 2023, so it is 18 months now.
Is Fr. Alberic your first Buddy?
Yes, he is my first Buddy.
What has been the best part of your experience as a buddy?
I feel I am very lucky that Father Alberic was keen to share his life stories with me. He is a good person who has had fantastic experiences in his life.
Here are some stories that Fr. Alberic has shared with me :
During World War II, when Alberic was 7 years old, the army came to his hometown and closed all the schools, and they took everything. So, he was not able to go school at that time. A few years later, when the army left, Alberic was at school one day playing with toys and he threw a toy (he thought it was a toy, but it was a bomb, left behind by the army). It blew up, and he was thrown far away, with 3 fingers on his left hand damaged. Alberic’s father was called, and rescued him, wrapping his hands to stop bleeding and immediately taking him to the closest hospital. Alberic’s dad was a hero to him.
He thinks his mum had a wonderful wisdom. After the bomb incident, when he returned to home from the hospital, his mum said “My son, now you cannot use your hand for living, so you need to use your head and brain. You need to go to one of the top universities and study hard. If you do so, you will not need to blame someone for what happened to you.”
I found Fr. Alberic’s feelings about his Father and Mother quite touching, and the story about the bomb and his fingers was an emotional experience.
It has been super helpful to me to write down some of the stories of Fr. Alberic’s life, and to read the books already written about his life, one book was actually written by Fr. Alberic himself, and one was written about his achievements as a priest.
Alberic was born in the town of Matera in Southern Italy, which is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, with evidence of inhabitants dating back to 7 000 BC.
His brother followed in Alberic’s path, accepting an order of Superior General of the Society of Jesus and has visited Alberic in Australia.
His sister moved to Milan and became a nun and welcomed the order as well.
Alberic went to a university to study Latin and Greek in Rome in the 1950’s and same time he was a priest there. When he was 21 years old, his abbot in the Benedictine Order asked him to go to Australia. Alberic wanted to stay in Rome and thought it was better to finish his study there. However, his abbot insisted and sent him to Australia saying ‘You will understand in years and years how important it is to go now’. Alberic became a Priest of Saint Mary Cathedral in Australia. Almost 60 years later, he says, he finally understood what his abbot had told him.
All his young age, he spent his life studying and teaching in Latin. After coming to Australia in 1959, Fr Alberic studied for two years in St Patrick’s Seminary, Manly. The seminarians taught him basic English words.
Despite the obstacle of English, Alberic had a trick up his sleeve when studying for a Doctorate of Divinity at Manly, mastery of Latin and Greek. He had all the ancient languages, so he was offered to teach at the Catholic Teacher’s College in North Sydney.
Alberic taught around 1100 students about theology at Catholic Teachers College, North Sydney and Mary Mackillop College, Marylands, helping them to prepare to enrol Universities in Sydney. One of his former students became Principal of Marian College, Kenthurst.
Fr. Alberic’s favourite movie is ‘The Passion of The Christ’ (2004), the Mel Gibson produced movie. He filmed much of the movie in the city of Matera where Alberic was born. Alberic thinks Mel Gibson did a very good job!
Alberic was one of the pioneers of the Italian community in Australia. He was awarded a special Centenary Medal from Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to the Catholic and Italian communities, which included building schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney.
Anything you’d like to add, for new staff who haven’t yet been allocated a Buddy?
I would like to say it is a good experience to have a buddy and get to know him/her. It is good for the staff member to understand the resident, and good for the resident to have someone special to relate to, especially when they first arrive. Everybody has an impressive life story to share. Just try to talk to them, take your time and maybe share some of your own life story first, to make them feel more comfortable. Ask them some good questions about their childhood, parents, siblings, children, friends and loved ones and, like me, you will find out so many interesting things about them.
Thank you so much to Fr. Alberic for sharing your story, and to Oggy for sharing your experience as a Twilight Buddy!
