Francesco was born in 1965 in Indonesia - the second of six brothers and sisters. He joined the Taizé Community in 1993, where he quickly put his technical skills at the service of the life of the brothers and of welcoming young people. Over the years, he became a real expert in sound recording, and developed the audio system in the Church of Reconciliation. For years, he also faithfully provided the recordings of the common prayer for the RCF radio.
In Taizé, he has welcomed many young people from Indonesia and other Asian countries, and in recent years joined the team responsible for accompanying the volunteers. He has also visited many times the young people and Christian communities of Hungary, a country whose language he learned and in which he made many friends. He also took part in the preparation of several international Taizé meetings, from Vienna in 1992, where he was part of the team of volunteers, to the last meeting in in Cape Town, South Africa.
In recent years, he helped organise friendship meetings between young Christians and Muslims, and he regularly co-led workshops on inter-religious dialogue, a theme that was close to his heart because of his own family history. He was also very passionate about music, a passion he was keen to share with young people in the musical workshops he regularly organised up to and including this summer.
Brother Alois wrote this prayer in his memory:
Jesus Christ, we entrust to you our brother Francesco, whom you welcome into the life of eternity, forever with you. With a living faith and great kindness, he believed in you and responded to your call. Thirty years ago, he left his native Indonesia to join our community. He was so happy, a month ago, to set off to see his family, whom he had not been able to visit in recent years. Together with our brothers, here and in fraternities, and with all those who knew and loved him, we praise you for his life among us and we entrust him to your mercy. Holy Spirit, like for our brother Francesco, you fill us with hope and, even with a tiny faith, we dare to say it with our lives: "Christ is risen!"