L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano I t a l l s t a r t e d w i t h a d r e a m . O n h e r d e a t h b e d o n M a y 26, 1624, Girolama Gatto dreamed of a maiden dressed in white who promised her healing if she would climb Mount Pel- legrino to give thanks. Giro- lama honored the promise and climbed the mountain, but her fever returned. She drank the water dripping from a cave on the moun- tain, fell into a deep sleep, and dreamed again of the maiden, who revealed to her the location of her relics. In the dream, Girolama recog- nized the maiden as Ros- alia, and after awakening, her strength returned and she was healed. Despite investigations into the found relics, there was no definitive proof of their origins. Meanwhile, P a l e r m o w a s h i t b y a p l a g u e a n d t h e C h u r c h declared Santa Rosalia the city's patron saint. In addition, on February 11, 1 6 2 5 , i t w a s o f f i c i a l l y d e c l a r e d t h a t t h e r e l i c s belonged to the hermit girl. The story goes that Vincen- z o B o n e l l i , a m a n w h o s o u g h t r e f u g e o n t h e p r o m o n t o r y o f P a l e r m o , was visited by Santa Ros- a l i a , w h o e n t r u s t e d h i m with the task of telling the c a r d i n a l t h a t t h e r e l i c s belonged to her. On June 9, 1625, these relics were car- r i e d i n a p r o c e s s i o n i n a specially constructed urn, and it is said that by July 15, the plague had started to recede, eventually disap- pearing completely. F a s t f o r w a r d t o J u l y 2023, the 399th anniversary of the celebrations honoring S a n t a R o s a l i a f o n d l y referred to as Festino. This f i v e - d a y e v e n t , f r o m t h e 10th to the 15th of July, is devoted to the Santuzza or "Little Saint" as she is called by her faithful followers, filled with religious and sec- ular festivities. The theme of this year's celebrations was the dream – a notion closely aligned with hope and good fortune. T h e d r e a m s e r v e s a s a metaphor, a need to believe that other miracles, just like the end of the plague, can be brought about by Ros- alia, the beloved saint who b e l o n g s t o t h e p e o p l e o f Palermo and who embodies the city itself. One dreamer w a s B r o t h e r B i a g i o C o n t e , a l a y m i s s i o n a r y from Palermo, who, during a profound spiritual crisis at the age of twenty, left his family home and traveled to Florence, where he decided to live as a hermit. Howev- er, his restless soul led him to Assisi, the city of Saint Francis. Upon his return to Palermo, he decided to stay rather than travel to Africa as a missionary, struck by the plight of the homeless in his own city. He founded t h e m i s s i o n " H o p e a n d Charity," offering shelter, hot meals, and most impor- tantly, Christian charity to those in need. Brother Bia- gio left this earthly life on January 12, after a long and p a i n f u l i l l n e s s , b u t n o t before participating in the holy Mass the day before his death. T h i s y e a r , t h e c i t y o f Palermo also dedicated the five days of July to Father P i n o P u g l i s i , t h e f i r s t mafia victim from the cler- g y . O r d a i n e d a p r i e s t o n July 2, 1960, at the age of 2 2 , h e o p e n e d t h e " O u r Father" center in the mafia- ridden Brancaccio neigh- borhood of Palermo in 1993, aiming to evangelize its resi- dents. As a teacher in sever- al high schools in Palermo, he was able to engage with the youth, but his main mis- sion was to steer the kids of Brancaccio away from the m a f i a ' s c l u t c h e s . F a t h e r Puglisi also had a dream: to free his parishioners from oppression and servitude. H e w a s m u r d e r e d w i t h a gunshot to the back of his head in front of his house on S e p t e m b e r 1 5 , 1 9 9 3 , h i s 5 6 t h b i r t h d a y . T h i s y e a r marks thirty years since his murder and ten years since his beatification for martyr- dom in odium fidei. T h e t r a d i t i o n a l f l o a t , shaped like a boat and car- rying the statue of Santa Rosalia, took on a new form this year. Crafted by the stu- d e n t s o f t h e A c a d e m y o f Fine Arts of Palermo, it was TERESA DI FRESCO shaped like a crescent moon surrounded by clouds, and t h e " L i t t l e S a i n t " w a s depicted as a modern girl in simple clothes, positioned not on top of the float, but i n t h e l o w e r p a r t o f t h e moon. The route of the pro- cession remained the same as it has for centuries, and t h e a t r i c a l p e r f o r m a n c e s portraying the plague and Rosalia's miracle were part o f t h e e v e n t . T h e Y o u t h O r c h e s t r a o f t h e T e a t r o M a s s i m o p r o v i d e d t h e m u s i c a l b a c k d r o p t o t h e l i g h t p r o j e c t i o n s o n t h e Cathedral located along the Cassaro, which visually nar- r a t e d t h e l i f e o f R o s a l i a . Acrobats performed aerial f e a t s b o t h a t t h e R o y a l Palace and the Sun Theater, a l s o k n o w n a s P i a z z a Vigliena or the Four Cor- ners, which divides the city center of Palermo into four districts. The mayor of the city, this year Roberto La Galla, continued the cus- tomary tribute at the Four Corners, where the float car- rying the statue of the Little S a i n t p a u s e d , a n d p r o - claimed the much-anticipat- ed phrase: "Long live Paler- mo and Santa Rosalia!" "Drug use lines the pock- ets of the mafia." This stark phrase was pronounced by M o n s i g n o r L o r e f i c e , t h e Archbishop of Palermo, in front of the statue of Santa Rosalia on the float parad- ing down the Cassaro. It was one of the most poignant moments of the procession, which ended at the marina, t h e F o r o I t a l i c o . H e r e , images of Biagio Conte and Father Pino Puglisi were projected onto the walls of Porta Felice. The night cul- minated in a breathtaking fireworks display, referred to as fuochi artificiali by the P a l e r m i t a n s , t h e i r l i g h t reflecting off the waters of t h e G u l f o f P a l e r m o f o r about an hour, paying trib- ute to the festival and the deeply felt devotion of all Palermitans. Because the Festino is, in essence, Paler- mo itself. Celebrating "La Santuzza", Santa Rosalia and the dream Sculpture of santa rosalia with red rose in hand, on display in the Cathedral of Palermo in his cart. © Gandolfo Cannatella|Dreamstime.com LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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