DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇹 Italy /Culture & Society

Priest’s ashes become a diamond to ‘reflect God’s light’

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth From a news agency Outcome reported
  • The ashes of Don Lanfranco Casali, a priest from Italy’s Marche region who died at 93, were turned into a blue diamond in Switzerland.
  • Casali requested the cremation and transformation of his ashes in his will, saying he wanted the diamond placed in a sacred location.
  • The company that made it says the blue color comes from boron in the human body.

Don Lanfranco Casali wanted more than cremation. He wanted his ashes turned into a diamond, so he could remain, in his words, a small gem capable of reflecting God’s image more faithfully.

I confess that for years I have been seriously thinking about the day when the Lord will call me to Himself.

· Don Lanfranco CasaliIn a video testament recorded in 2024, the priest explained his thoughts about death and his spiritual reasons for choosing the diamond burial.

Casali, a priest from Italy’s Marche region, died last November at the age of 93 in Osimo, near Ancona. His wish, included in his will, has now been fulfilled with the creation of a blue diamond by Algordanza, a Swiss company specializing in so-called Memory Diamonds.

The process extracts carbon from cremated remains, purifies it, converts it into graphite, and subjects it to high pressure and high temperature. The laboratory process reproduces the natural formation of gemstones. Algordanza says the diamond’s blue shades depend on boron present in the human body.

As a priest, I have always tried to live as a reflection of the light of Christ that is in the face of the Church.

· Don Lanfranco CasaliCasali linked the diamond to his understanding of his vocation and faith.

Casali explained the spiritual meaning of his choice in a video recorded in 2024 and released after his death. “I confess that for years I have been seriously thinking about the day when the Lord will call me to Himself,” he said. “As a priest, I have always tried to live as a reflection of the light of Christ that is in the face of the Church.”

It is my wish that my ashes be made into a diamond and that this diamond be placed in a sacred place.

· Don Lanfranco CasaliThe priest described the request he included in his will.

He said his will had already arranged, with liturgical and spiritual references, for his body to be cremated and his remains donated. But he wanted to go further. “It is my wish that my ashes be made into a diamond and that this diamond be placed in a sacred place,” Casali said. “I would like to perceive myself as a small diamond to be purified so that I may more faithfully reflect the image of God.”

I would like to perceive myself as a small diamond to be purified so that I may more faithfully reflect the image of God.

· Don Lanfranco CasaliHe explained the symbolic meaning he attached to the transformed ashes.
About this summary

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog