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[CULTURE] · Italy · 100 sources

Don Antonio Mazzi, founder of Exodus, dies at 96 in Milan

Don Antonio Mazzi, the priest‑educator who created the Exodus community, died on 31 July 2026 in Milan at the age of 96. Mazzi founded Exodus in the early 1980s to help young people affected by drug addiction, marginalisation and family breakdown, turning the Parco Lambro site into a network of centres, cooperatives and educational projects that now operate across Italy and abroad.

The Foundation announced his death at 17:00, noting that he was surrounded by the “boys” and educators who had been his family. Vice‑president Franco Taverna described him as a “father, a visionary, a ‘borderline priest’” and pledged continuity of all Exodus activities. Milan’s mayor Beppe Sala declared a day of mourning for the city. A public wake was held at the Cascina Molino Torrette, and the funeral took place on 3 August at the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio.

Mazzi’s legacy includes a pedagogical approach that reshaped Italy’s intervention model for vulnerable youth and inspired similar initiatives worldwide.

Entities: Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio · Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio · Beppe Sala · Cascina Molino Torrette · Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence · Don Antonio Mazzi · Exodus Foundation · Franco Taverna · Giuseppe Sala · Milan · Verona

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

  • [● 21 SOURCES] He was the founder and president of the Exodus community. (All articles)
  • [● 3 SOURCES] The Molino Torrette site in Parco Lambro became the historic headquarters of Exodus. (existing claim)
  • [● 5 SOURCES] Exodus was created to support young people with drug addiction and other forms of social marginalisation. (All articles)
  • [● 15 SOURCES] In 1984 he launched the Exodus project and in 1985 created a mobile unit for street work. (multiple articles)
  • [● 21 SOURCES] Don Antonio Mazzi died on 31 July 2026 at 17:00 in Milan, aged 96. (All articles)
  • [● 17 SOURCES] He was born on 30 November 1929 in Verona. (All articles)
  • [● 18 SOURCES] The funeral will be held on 3 August 2026 at the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. (multiple articles)
  • [● 17 SOURCES] Don Antonio Mazzi was ordained a priest in 1955 in the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence. (multiple articles)
  • [● 4 SOURCES] Don Antonio Mazzi was born on 30 November 1929 in Verona. (multiple articles)
  • [● 4 SOURCES] He was ordained a priest in 1955 in the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence. (All articles)
  • [● 6 SOURCES] Don Antonio Mazzi died on 31 July 2026 at 17:00 in Milan. (multiple articles)
  • [● 3 SOURCES] Don Antonio Mazzi was 96 years old at the time of his death. (multiple articles)

Sources

Mirko Lombardi (1950-2026) [bresciaanticapitalista.com]
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