L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, St. R o c c o ' s F e a s t D a y , A u g u s t 16th, is celebrat- ed with great enthusiasm in many small towns of South- ern Italy. Here I will share Vincenzo Ancona's (1915- 2000) poem, dedicated to the habit of offering ex-voto to him: A certain shepherd of an antique stamp happened to p a s s i n f r o n t o f a n o l d c h u r c h , a h o l y s h r i n e , i n f a c t , a n d h e o b s e r v e d numerous people who were there to pray. T h e s h e p h e r d , o u t o f curiosity, decided to go in t o t a k e a l o o k , a n d i n a niche he saw to his surprise hands, feet and heads all fashioned out of wax. A s t o u n d e d , h e a p p r o a c h e d a m o n k a n d asked: "Excuse me brother, can you please explain what those things are? And how did they get here? Why did they put them there to hang and sway? T h e b r o t h e r l o o k e d a t him and understood, and thought that he should sat- isfy this man, 'You want to know the meaning of these relics? They represent the grace o f S a i n t R o c h ! F o r e v e r y time Saint Roch vouchsafes a grace, according to the body part affected the suf- ferers hang heads or feet of wax here in this niche along with many prayers. This is the way they show t h e i r g r a t i t u d e f o r t h e i r miraculous recoveries. That, my dear friend, is the entire truth. Pray to the saint and put your trust in God!' The shepherd who was ailing down below, that is, in the part I can't mention here, dropped to his knees as though he were a sinner and he began to pray with all his heart: 'Holy Saint Roch, oh, can you hear my voice? I, too, need you to grant a miracle, and if you cure m e f r o m t h i s w r e t c h e d pain, I'll make your wax as big as a train!" *** August is a good month t o r e m i n d y o u t h a t S t . R o c c o , a l w a y s p i c t u r e d with his dog on religious picture cards, was heaven's first animal rights activist, if the stories we believe in a leap of faith, are true. St. Rocco, with his faith- f u l c a n i n e c o m p a n i o n Roquet by his side, is ven- erated throughout Italy for his intercession and service to the plague-stricken in the early 1320s, and celebrated in Sicily and Calabria with Italian gingerbread figures c a l l e d P a n p e a t i . T h e s e represent various parts of the body and are ex-voto for t h e p e o p l e w h o s e a r m s , legs, and organs are pro- tected by the saint. S t . R o c c o ( R o c h ) w a s b o r n w i t h a b i r t h m a r k shaped like a cross imprint- ed on his breast in Montpel- lier, France. As soon as he w a s o f a g e , h e g a v e h i s earthly possessions to the poor, took up the life of a monk, and began to wan- der, accompanied by a little d o g n a m e d R o q u e t . H e served the plague-stricken in Italy while on a pilgrim- age of devotion to Rome. This was the time of the B l a c k D e a t h ( b u b o n i c p l a g u e ) a n d w h e n R o c c o d i s c o v e r e d t h a t h e c o u l d heal the sick with his touch, he devoted himself to their cure. Finally infected with the d i s e a s e h i m s e l f , h e w i t h - drew, dragging himself to a n i s o l a t e d c a v e i n t h e woods. While he lay there exhausted, his dog Roquet found his way to the castle o f a n e a r b y n o b l e m a n w h e r e h e m a n a g e d t o snatch a loaf of bread from t h e t a b l e . R e t u r n i n g d a y after day to find food for his master, the dog aroused the interest of the nobleman, Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. w h o f o l l o w e d h i m t o t h e cave. The sight of Rocco, n o w d y i n g , m o v e d t h e nobleman to abandon his wealth and follow the path o f t h e d y i n g s a i n t , w h o passed circa 1327. S t . R o c c o a s c e n d e d t o Heaven, where he was wel- c o m e d b y S t . P e t e r , t h e Celestial Gatekeeper. When St. Peter refused to admit R o q u e t , a s t h e y h a d a n o pet policy, St. Rocco said the dog had saved his life. S t . P e t e r r e p l i e d t h a t a rooster had saved his soul, but that he had never imag- i n e d t a k i n g h i m a l o n g t o Heaven. Refusing to aban- don his faithful companion, St. Rocco sent news of his c o n f l i c t a n d r e a c h e d t h e ears of God the Father, who commended that St. Rocco and Roquet be admitted to Heaven together. When St. Peter complained about the neglect of his rooster and t h r e a t e n e d t o r e s i g n h i s post, the heavenly Father agreed that the bird should also enter. Then the other saints all made a claim for the ani- mals that had served them - St. Jerome for his lion, St. Calm for his cat, St. Agnes for her lamb, and St. Fran- cis for all the other birds and beasts. And the Heav- enly Father saw that he had no choice. He ordered St. P e t e r t o t h r o w o p e n t h e Gates of Heaven to every creature who had served his will. And it was the doing of S t . R o c c o a n d h i s l i t t l e dog...

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