by Giuseppe Adriano Rossi
Chapel dedicated to the Madonna of Lourdes at the Church of Sant’Agostino, Reggio Emilia
REGGIO EMILIA – It’s over a century old city church of Sant’Agostino devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes: it is documented that its valley in 1892 the provost mons. Prospero Scurani would solemnize the anniversary of February 11th, apparition of the Virgin in the Massabielle cave. And it was the same Msgr. Scurani to erect in his parish church the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.
The provost wanted in what had until then been the chapel of San Giobbe – to the right of the main altar – a reproduction of the Massabielle Cave, in which the Virgin appeared in 1858 to Saint Bernadette Soubirous. Created by the artist Raffaelli and inaugurated by Bishop Edoardo Brettoni on 10 August 1912, it has always been, par excellence, the center of the city’s Lourdian devotion. The statue of the Virgin was purchased in Lourdes by Count Gaetano Castellani Tarabini: in fact in the halo is the writing “I am the Immaculate Conception” in French.
This year too the anniversary will be celebrated with particular solemnity in the parish church of Sant’Agostino, the Marian feast which coincides with the XXXII World Day of the Sick.
Sunday 11 February the solemn Eucharistic celebration will be presided over at 11.30 by the vicar general Msgr. Giovanni Rossi; in the afternoon from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm Eucharistic adoration is scheduled followed by the recitation of solemn Vespers.
The parish priest Don Luca Grassi has prepared the following calendar for the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation: Saturday 10 February in Saint Augustine from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm Don Gianni Manfredini will be present; Sunday 11 February always in Sant’Agostino from 9.30 to 11.30 and from 16.00 to 18.00: Don Vasco Rosselli.
The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes coincides with the XXXII World Day of the Sick; Pope Francis’ message for the Day focuses on the theme “It is not good for man to be alone”. Treating the sick by taking care of relationships”.
Pope Francis with Don Giovanni Rossi
Bergoglio writes “From the beginning, God, who is love, created the human being for communion, inscribing the dimension of relationships in his being. Thus, our life is called to fully realize itself in the dynamism of relationships, friendship and mutual love. We are created to be together, not alone. And precisely because this project of communion is so deeply inscribed in the human heart, the experience of abandonment and loneliness scares us and is painful and even inhuman. It becomes even more so in times of fragility, uncertainty and insecurity, often caused by the onset of any serious illness”.
Pope Francis recalls how terribly alone we have been during the Covid 19 pandemic and adds: “The first cure we need in illness is closeness full of compassion and tenderness. For this reason, taking care of the sick person means first of all taking care of his relationships, of all his relationships: with God, with others – family, friends, healthcare workers -, with creation, with himself. It’s possible? Yes, it is possible and we are all called to work hard to make this happen. Let us look at the icon of the Good Samaritan, at his ability to slow down and be close, at the tenderness with which he soothes the wounds of his suffering brother”.