Feast postponed. Together with the usual novena to the Madonna della Montagna. The Sanctuary of Polsi entrusts the explanation of what is happening in the Aspromontan municipality in these days. The place that the ‘Ndrangheta has erected to its own symbol despite the daily commitment of faithful and citizens to remove it from the mafia exploitation and return it to worship and prayer. This year the celebrations that have been taking place in Polsi for 400 years, on the occasion of the Feast of the Madonna, on September 2, were postponed to another date. The Board of Directors of the Sanctuary, together with the bishop Monsignor Francesco Oliva and to the rector Don Tonino Saraco, in fact verified the numerous critical issues that emerged that they advised against pilgrimages and liturgies. Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, would have arrived to have the mass, always very attentive to the themes related to the contrast of the mafias. “The mafia,” said Cardinal of Bologna, “is a problem that concerns the whole country and not only the southern regions. And it is a phenomenon that is not only fought in a judicial way, but with legality and attention to the common good ». How it has been doing for years in Polsi. Also making the sanctuary more accessible. To which you arrive through two impervious roads, further compromised by a winter landslide. The access to accessing access, “despite the commitment of the Calabria Region”, says the Board of Directors, “have only started recently”.
In the long letter that was sent to Cardinal Zuppi to thank him for his availability, it should be noted that “works for the anti -seismic safety of the sanctuary are also underway, thanks to an important intervention of the PNRR”. The restoration of the place and the full practicability of the road that came from San Luca to wrists had been expected for a long time and which “certainly represent a positive development in the history of the sanctuary and the entire Aspromontan territory”.
The alternatives to celebrate however on September 2 (it was thought to use the municipal stadium of San Luca) have not been welcomed by the population the hypothesis, we always read in the letter “it is revealed impracticable for reasons of safety and usability of the structure as represented by the institutional bodies in charge”. Brusche reactions also from one part of the population to the solution to carry out the novena from 24 August to 1 September in the parish church of San Luca, with the traditional vigil in the night between 1 and 2 September and the solemn celebration in Locri. “Tensions and exploitation on social media with the spread of false news about the definitive closure of the sanctuary and the removal of the sacred effigy” have also dropped this alternative. The statue of the Madonna, therefore, will not be moved and the celebrations are postponed when there will be “a renewed and safe context. The visit of Cardinal Zuppi, postponed to protect his serenity, remains a lively and shared desire, in the hope of being able to welcome it in more favorable times “, writes the Board of Directors. And he concludes: «We trust in understanding his eminence and renew our desire to welcome him soon. We will continue to work with dedication to create the most appropriate conditions for the Sanctuary of Polsi to return to being a meeting place, prayer and beauty, finally put in safety and made more welcoming ».
