On 24 September 2022, the Delegation celebrated the liturgical memorial of St Maurice Martyr, Patron Saint of the Royal House of Savoy.
Prof. Rev. Rosario Lo Bello, Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, assisted in choral dress by Comm. Rev. Andrea Di Paola, Deputy for Messina, in the presence of the Magistral Delegate Gr. Uff. Avv. Francesco Atanasio, Vice Delegate Comm. Dr. David Truscello, and the Deputies for Catania, Comm. Avv. Giovanni Vanadia, and Siracusa, Comm. Avv. Giorgio Nicastro del Lago, officiated at the Holy Mass in the church of San Nicolò l’Arena in Catania. The sacred rite, made more solemn than ever by the musical performances of Maestro Daniele Medulla’s ensemble, was attended by the Head of the Territorial Activities Department of the Italian Army as delegate of Gen. Div. Maurizio Scardino, Military Commander of the Sicilian Army, representatives of the Grand Prioral Delegation of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Commenda of Santa Venera of the Teutonic Order and the Italian Red Cross Volunteer Nurse Corps of Catania. Among the welcome guests were the Federations of the Institute of the Blue Ribbon of Catania, Caltanissetta, Messina and Syracuse, who attended the event under the patronage of the Presidency of the association, decorated in 2018 with the Mauritian Gold Medal by our Grand Master, and the Corps of Guards at War Memorial Shrines.
At the end of the sacred rite, after the blessing with the relic of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, the honoured guests visited the war memorial of the city of Catania located in the apse of the church and inaugurated in 1926 by HM King Vittorio Emanuele III, where, after laying a laurel wreath and performing the “Silenzio fuori ordinanza” in memory of the Fallen, Rev. Di Paola blessed the shrines in an atmosphere of deep emotion.
In Palermo, the Most Rev. Mgr Gaetano Tulipano, Canon of the Palatine Chapel, Officer of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, presided over the concelebration of the Eucharist together with Cav. Rev. Giuseppe Iozzia at the church of Sant’Antonio Abate. Taking part in the sacred rite were the Deputy for Palermo, Comm. Andrea Di Giovanna, the delegations of the Italian Red Cross Volunteer Nurse Corps, the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, the Teutonic Order with the bailiff Dr. Antonino Sala and the Royal Company of Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy.
During the Holy Masses, funds were collected and donated to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land for the humanitarian emergency in Lebanon in support of the dispensary and medical clinic in Tripoli.
