Ancona, September 5, 2026 – The ashes of a priest from the Marche region have become a blue diamond. This happened to don Lanfranco Casali, who died last November at 93 years old in Osimo (Ancona), and had requested this form of burial in his will.
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The jewel was made in Switzerland by the Algordanza company, specialized in creating the so-called Memory Diamonds: the carbon extracted from the cremation ashes is purified, transformed into graphite, and subjected to high pressure and high temperature, reproducing in the laboratory the natural process of gem formation.
The video of don Casali: “It is my wish”
The blue shades, the company explains, depend on the boron present in the human body. Don Casali had recorded a video in 2024, made public after his death, in which he explained the spiritual meaning of the choice.
“I confess that for years I have been seriously thinking about the day when the Lord will call me to Himself – the priest said in the video –. 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. In my will, I have already arranged, with liturgical and spiritual references, the cremation of the remains of my body which I want to donate. But I would like to go further: it is my wish that my ashes be turned into a diamond and that this diamond be placed in a sacred place. I would like to perceive myself as a small diamond to be purified so that I can more faithfully reflect the image of God.”
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Who was Don Lanfranco Casali?
On Saturday, November 22 last year, at the age of 93 years, don Lanfranco Casali died. Don Lanfranco was born on March 10, 1932 in Castelfidardo and was ordained a priest in Crocette di Castelfidardo on June 29, 1956.
For some years he had retired to his hometown alongside family members who cared for him until the end.
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