L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, St. Rocco's F e a s t D a y , A u g u s t 16th, is celebrated with great enthusiasm in many small t o w n s o f S o u t h e r n I t a l y . Visiting bands are hired by the 'Comitato della Festa di San Rocco' and special foods baked, like ex-voto of pane tostato, spicy bread shaped like parts of the body that need San Rocco's b l e s s e d i n t e r v e n t i o n f o r healing. For a unique variation on pleas to St. Rocco for healing and ex-voto promises made, I will share Vincenzo Ancona's (1915-2000) poem: S a n t u R o c c o e l u picuraru S a i n t R o c c o a n d t h e Shepherd A c e r t a i n s h e p h e r d o f a n antique stamp happened to pass in front of an old church, a holy shrine, in fact, and he observed n u m e r o u s p e o p l e w h o w e r e there to pray. The shepherd, out of curiosity, decided to go in to take a look, and in a niche he saw to his surprise hands, feet and heads all fashioned out of wax.  Astounded, he approached a monk and 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? The brother looked at him and understood,  and thought that he should satisfy this man, " Y o u w a n t t o k n o w t h e meaning of these relics? They represent the grace of Saint Roch! For every time Saint Roch vouchsafes a grace,  according to the body part affected  the sufferers hang heads or feet of wax here in this niche along with many prayers. This is the way they show their gratitude for their miracu- lous recoveries. That, my dear friend, is the entire truth. P r a y t o t h e s a i n t a n d p u t your trust in God!" The shepherd who was ailing down below,  that is, in that part I can't mention here,  d r o p p e d t o h i s k n e e s a s 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 m i r a c l e , a n d i f y o u c u r e m e from this wretched pain,  I'll make your wax behind big as a train!" This poem can be found in the Vincenzo Ancona "Malidittu la lingua/Damned Language and Other Poems" both printed in bilingual Sicilian-English edi- tion. To order post pay mail a $20 check, payable to Legas P u b l i s h i n g , P . O . B o x 1 4 9 , Mineola, NY, 11501. *** August is a good month to remind you that St. Rocco and his dog, always pictured togeth- er on religious picture cards dis- tributed on his feast day, August 16, was Heaven's first animal rights activist, if we believe, in a leap of faith, these stories to be true. St. Rocco, with his faithful canine companion Roquet by his side, is venerated throughout Italy for his intercession and service to the plague-stricken in the early 1320s, and celebrated in Calabria with Italian ginger- bread figures called Panepati. These represent various parts of the body, and symbolize ex-voto from the people whose arms, legs and organs are protected by the saint. He is often considered the patron saint of wool carders and cooks. However, after reading this story I am sure you'll agree that San Rocco deserves to be k n o w n a s t h e o r i g i n a l e q u a l rights animal activist. St. Rocco (Roch) was born with a birthmark shaped like a cross imprinted on his breast in Montpellier, France. As soon as h e 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 wander, accompanied by a little dog named Roquet. He served the plague stricken in Italy while on a pilgrimage. Finally infected with the dis- ease himself, he withdrew, drag- ging himself to an isolated cave in the woods. While he lay there exhausted, his dog Roquet found his way to the castle of a nearby nobleman, where he managed to snatch a loaf of bread from the table. Returning day after day to find food for his master, the dog aroused the interest of the noble- man, who followed him to the cave. The sight of Rocco, now dying, moved the nobleman to abandon his wealth and follow the path of the dying saint, who passed away around 1327. S t . R o c c o a s c e n d e d t o H e a v e n , w h e r e h e w a s w e l - comed by St. Peter, the Celestial G a t e k e e p e r . W h e n S t . P e t e r refused to admit Roquet, as they had a no pets allowed policy, St. Rocco insisted that the dog had saved his life. St. Peter replied that a rooster had saved his soul, but that he had never even imag- i n e d t a k i n g h i m t o H e a v e n . Refusing to abandon his faithful companion, St. Rocco sent news of this conflict and reached the e a r s o f G o d t h e F a t h e r , w h o commanded that St. Rocco and Roquet be admitted to heaven together. When St. Peter com- plained about the neglect of his rooster and threatened to resign his post, the heavenly Father agreed that the bird should also enter.  T h e n t h e o t h e r s a i n t s a l l made claim for the animals that head served them - St. Jerome for his lion, St. Calm for his cat, St. Agnes for her lamb, and St. Francis for all the other birds and beasts. And the Heavenly F a t h e r s a w t h a t h e h a d n o choice. He ordered St. Peter to throw open the Gates of Heaven t o e v e r y c r e a t u r e w h o h a d served His will. And it was the doing of St. Rocco and his little dog. *** T h e d i s t i n c t i v e i m a g e o f Saint Roch is that of a pilgrim with a sore that indicates he has the plague. The saint's dress is usually composed of a wide- b r i m m e d h a t a n d a c l o a k t o which are attached one or more badges of the pilgrimages he has taken. The saint's other accou- terments are a pilgrim's staff, a canteen gourd, and a knapsack. The most important aspect of his depictions, however, is the way he reveals the sore on his thigh, proof he has caught the plague, which according to the legend he survived.

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