L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2026 L'Italo-Americano " Vos et ipsam civita- tem benedicimus" – "We bless you and y o u r c i t y . " T h e s e are the words that welcome those arriving in M e s s i n a by sea, and can a l s o b e s e e n f r o m t h e a i r when approaching the near- b y a i r p o r t s o f C a t a n i a o r Reggio Calabria. According to tradition, they come from a letter sent by the Virgin Mary herself to the people of M e s s i n a . T h e s t o r y d a t e s back to 42 AD. After Saint Paul had converted many of the city's inhabitants, a dele- gation from Messina is said to have travelled with him to Jerusalem to meet the Virgin Mary and ask for her bless- i n g a n d p r o t e c t i o n . M a r y entrusted them with a letter written in Hebrew, rolled up and tied with a lock of her h a i r . T h e d e l e g a t i o n returned to Messina on Sep- tember 8 of that same year. From this tradition comes the title Madonna della Lettera, Our Lady of the Letter, patroness of Messina. The lock of hair traditionally associated with the Virgin is kept in Messina Cathedral and displayed during Corpus Christi. It is set into the mast of a small silver galley, sym- bolizing Mary's protection of sailors crossing dangerous seas. Devotion to Our Lady of the Letter is not limited to M e s s i n a , s h e i s a l s o p a t r o n e s s o f I t a l a , i n t h e metropolitan area of Messi- na; Palmi, in the province of Reggio Calabria; Finale, near Palermo; and Pannaconi, in the province of Vibo Valen- t i a . T h e d e v o t i o n i s a l s o strong in Riposto, near Cata- n i a , w h e r e t h e s a n c t u a r y dedicated to her is the oldest in the town, and is found as far away as Santa Margherita Ligure and Alì Terme. Visitors arriving in Messi- na are greeted not only by the Latin inscription, but also by the imposing stele of the Madonna at the entrance to the harbor. Rising about 197 feet from its base to the halo of stars surrounding the s t a t u e , t h e m o n u m e n t i s crowned by a gilded bronze figure of the Virgin about seven meters high. Her right hand is raised in blessing, while in her left she holds the letter. The monument was inaugurated in 1934. T h e f a m o u s b e l l t o w e r o f M e s s i n a C a t h e d r a l a l s o recalls the story each day at noon, when its mechanical figures reenact the presenta- tion of the letter. The feast of Our Lady of the Letter is celebrated on June 3. During the proces- sion through the city, the faithful accompany the silver fercolo carrying the statue and invoke the Virgin with the traditional cry: "O della L e t t e r a M a d r e R e g i n a , salva Messina, salva Messi- na!" The cult became firmly established in 1716, when the monk Gregorio Arena brought to Messina an Ara- bic translation of the letter attributed to Mary. The text reads: "Most humble servant of God/Mother of Jesus cruci- fied of the tribe of Judah/of the line of David/ greetings to all the people of Messi- na/and the blessing of God t h e A l m i g h t y F a t h e r . W e know by public testimony that, with great faith/you h a v e s e n t d e l e g a t e s a n d ambassadors to us/confess- ing that Our Son, begotten b y G o d , i s b o t h G o d a n d man/and that after His Res- urrection He ascended into H e a v e n / H a v i n g c o m e t o k n o w t h e w a y o f t r u t h t h r o u g h t h e p r e a c h i n g o f Paul, the chosen Apostle/we therefore bless you and your city/of which we wish to be the perpetual protectress/ Jerusalem, June 3, year 42 of Our Son." The dating rais- e s a n o b v i o u s h i s t o r i c a l i n c o n s i s t e n c y , s i n c e t h e Christian calendar did not yet exist at the time. Tradi- t i o n n e v e r t h e l e s s a d d e d another layer to the story in 1647, when Sister Maria Roccaforte, a Benedictine nun from Bivona, reportedly experienced an apparition of t h e V i r g i n M a r y a n d h e r Guardian Angel, who con- firmed the authenticity of the letter. T h e h a r b o r m o n u m e n t was inaugurated and conse- crated on August 12, 1934, by Archbishop Angelo Paino. Later that day, Pope Pius XI, from Castel Gandolfo, gave his blessing and illuminated it remotely through a special s h o r t - w a v e r a d i o s y s t e m p r o v i d e d b y G u g l i e l m o M a r c o n i . T h e s t r u c t u r e stands at the end of the sick- le-shaped harbor, on the site o f f o r t i f i c a t i o n s b u i l t b y Emperor Charles V in 1546, where records also mention an earlier Tower of Sant'An- na. After the monument's inauguration, a crystal scale reproduction of the statue was presented to the Pope. Pius XII later returned it to M e s s i n a , w h e r e i t i s n o w kept in the Painiana Library of the Archiepiscopal Semi- nary. M e s s i n a h a s a n o t h e r deeply rooted Marian devo- tion: that of Our Lady of t h e A s s u m p t i o n , c e l e - brated on August 15. In 2 0 2 6 , f r o m J u l y 3 1 t o August 15, the city is mark- ing the Centenary of the Rebirth of the Vara, with religious and cultural events, exhibitions, performances and sacred celebrations sur- rounding the main proces- sion. The centenary com- memorates the resumption of the procession in 1926, after it had been suspended following the devastating earthquake of 1908. This year's program has included historical reenactments and photographic exhibitions devoted to the Vara and to the Giants Mata and Gri- fone, two enormous eques- t r i a n f i g u r e s t h a t p a r a d e through the city on August 14 accompanied by tradi- tional carts, drummers and folk groups. The highlight remains the procession of the Vara itself: about fourteen meters high, the monumental structure is pulled through Messina on August 15 by large numbers of devotees using very long r o p e s p r e p a r e d f r o m t h e early hours of the day. Mov- ing it requires both strength and precision to keep the statue of the Virgin stable. Once the Vara reaches the Cathedral, the evening con- cludes with fireworks. Yet, as sometimes hap- pens, a negative event rather than a joyful one can make a day of celebration unforget- table. This year, during the night of Ferragosto, while the city was still immersed in the festivities, a theft took place at MuMe, the Museo Accascina in Messina. F o u r w o r k s a t t r i b u t e d t o Antonello da Messina, the greatest Sicilian painter of the fifteenth century, were stolen. Among them were three of the five surviving panels from the celebrated Polyptych of Saint Gregory, w o r k s o f e x t r a o r d i n a r y value. TERESA DI FRESCO O u r L a d y o f t h e L e t t e r a n d O u r L a d y o f t h e Assumption: tradition and history in Messina LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE The Giants Mata and Grifone parade through the streets of Messina during the traditional celebrations leading up to the Feast of the Assumption on August 15 (Image generated using Adobe Illustrator AI)

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