Matera: piazza San Francesco, which hosts the 2022 edition of the Festa di Avvenire
Summer 2022 also marks the return of the Feasts of Future organized by dioceses and parishes from various areas of Italy with creativity, tenacity and spirit of initiative, calling the newspaper as a companion on the road also in public dialogue on the major issues of current affairs, of culture and faith. A calendar that counts seven events, from June to August, between historical kermesse (such as Lerici, since 1976) and others in their debut (in Grado). Here are the events, themes and guests.
In Matera builders of humanity
It was born only a few years ago, in 2017, but the Feast of Avvenire di Matera can already be counted among the most significant cultural events of the Italian cultural scene, so qualified and rich is the audience of guests, national and international, that every year enrich the program of events. The celebration was commissioned by the Bishops’ Conference of Basilicata and by the Young Europe Association, which embraced the availability of the Italian Catholic daily newspaper to discuss the great issues of current affairs in the area, from politics to the economy, from international scenarios to the Church, up to social and science. From the Città dei Sassi the festival has progressively involved the other dioceses of the region and, in the last two years – those marked by the pandemic -, it took place in Maratea, one of the most evocative places in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This year the event returns to Matera, every evening on 27th, 28th and 29th June, at 9pm, in the central Piazza San Francesco d’Assisi, the gateway to the millenary Sassi districts, Unesco heritage; the guests, once again of international appeal, will be “unveiled” in a few days. But it can already be said that the 2022 edition will go down in the annals of this review. The program is therefore concentrated in three days and will have as its theme “Builders of humanity”. In the first evening the debate will be on “Italy and Europe between conflicts and new needs”; the next day will be dedicated to the “Witnesses of Peace”, the conflict in Ukraine at the center of the debate; during the third evening we will talk about “Tomorrow’s health: territory, excellence and research”, with an international musical surprise at the end.
The Festa enjoys the support of the Auxilium Social Cooperative and the Cooperative Credit Bank of Alberobello, Sammichele and Monopoli, historical supporters of the event, to which, since last year, the Cassa Centrale Group has joined and, since this year, also the Macchia di Potenza Group. A few more hours then and every detail will be revealed.
Vito Salinaro
How many “Hearts listening” in Bibione
A summer of “Hearts in listening”: it is offered by the parish of Santa Maria Assunta in Bibione in its rich summer 2022 proposal. beach with six million people. The theme, explains the parish priest Don Enrico Facca, comes from the Pope’s invitation to “make a synod”. And if the place where the other person meets is the heart, then it is necessary to know how to listen to witnesses such as Antonio Fantin, a paralympic athlete from Bibione (July 6), Michele La Ginestra, face of Tv2000, in the XVI Festa di Avvenire and Il Popolo (13 July), and Vincenzo Corrado, director of the National Office of Social Communications. There is no shortage of meetings with personalities of the Church such as Monsignor Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins (20 July) who collects the award dedicated to Monsignor Padovese, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro who on 2 August will open the Holy Door for Bibione’s Forgiveness (2- August 16); and Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, archbishop of Bangui in the Central African Republic (23 August). There were two moments of high spirituality: the presence in the parish church of the relics of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (3-17 July) and of St. Francis of Assisi (31 July-14 August) in the days of the Pardon of Assisi. Info: www.parrocchiabibione.org
Simonetta Venturin
In Cortina and Canale d’Agordo with Pope Luciani
It is now a tradition, but this year for the diocese of Belluno-Feltre the “Mountain communication festival” can only be in tune with the memory of John Paul I, who will be raised to the honor of the altars on 4 September. The young “don Albino” – as he is still called in these parts – soon showed a marked propensity for journalism, with brilliant interventions in the columns of the diocesan weekly, with which he collaborated from 1941 to 1956. As Pope he remembered his high school teacher who he had told him: «” Look, you know how to write. Make an effort “…». The first part of the program – in the Ampezzo cultural review «A mountain of books» – will be held on Thursday 21 July in the Palazzo delle Poste in Cortina. After the greetings of the directors Tarquinio and Arrigoni, a conversation will follow between Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Stefania Falasca, president and vice-president of the Giovanni Paolo I Foundation, who will present the volume edited by the Foundation (published by Libreria Editrice and San Paolo) Il Magistero. Texts and documents of the pontificate, with preface by the Pope. The next day collaborators and propagandists of the diocesan weekly L’Amico del Popolo are invited to Canale d’Agordo, Luciani’s birthplace, where Bishop Renato Marangoni will celebrate Mass in the parish church. Below is a guided tour of the church, the Albino Luciani Museum and the birthplace of the blessed future.
Davide Fiocco
In Grado to make culture
In Grado, the “island of the sun” of the Upper Adriatic, in the archdiocese of Gorizia, the summer of 2022 will be enriched by the feast of Avvenire, a novelty strongly desired by the Gradese parish priest, Monsignor Paolo Nutarelli. “The intent – explains the priest – is to offer the numerous tourists two evenings in the name of that precious culture that the Church is still capable of producing”. This is why the place chosen for the two evenings of 27 July and 3 August at 9 pm will be the basilica of Sant’Eufemia, an icon of a history with ancient roots. On 27 July the meeting will open with a dialogue between the director of Avvenire, Marco Tarquinio, and the director of the diocesan weekly Voce Isontina and president of Fisc, Mauro Ungaro. Then Marco Girardo, head of the Economics editorial office of Avvenire, and Carlo Petrini, president of Slow Food, will discuss the theme of the “economy of peace”. On 3 August Matteo Liut, journalist for Avvenire, and Ungaro will interview Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, about his experience in one of the most delicate services for the Church. Those present will then be able to visit the treasure of the Cathedral of Grado, which for the occasion will be exhibited in the apse of the basilica. The meeting, therefore, will offer an ideal journey from the “spiritual treasure of the saints” to the treasure of the historical and artistic heritage of the Church, which founded Europe and which still has a lot to say in the face of the wounds that put it to the test today. .
In Trentino between peace and war
In its tour along the valleys of Trentino, the sixth edition of the feast of Avvenire and of the diocesan weekly Vita Trentina reaches the hairpin bends and vineyards of the Cembra Valley at the end of July: the land of farmers and cyclists will welcome the two publications in the typical landscape of Palù di Giovo, birthplace of Francesco Moser and Gilberto Simoni. The evening of Thursday 28 July will be dedicated to a debate on the theme “Information between war and peace” (Parish Theater, at 8.30 pm): the director of Avvenire Marco Tarquinio talks with the editorial staff of Vita Trentina. Friday 29 July, in Palù di Giovo, it begins at 9 with Mass presided over by the archbishop of Trento, Lauro Tisi; then a walk to discover the historic center and then at the sports hall the presentation of the volume How many stones in my sandals written by the journalist Giacomo Santini and published with the diocesan brand ViTrenD. With the author, there will be Archbishop Lauro Tisi, the director of Avvenire, Marco Tarquinio, and the Trentino cycling champions. After the rustic lunch, music with the “Stella” complex and an excursion to the church of San Giorgio, for a summer party that has now consolidated its original profile that combines the cultural commitment of the themes with the simplicity of the climate that is created. between meetings, dialogues and walks.
Diego Andreatta
In Lerici the prize goes to Lorena Bianchetti
A Mass celebrated by the bishop of La Spezia Luigi Ernesto Palletti will open the historic Feast of Avvenire on Saturday 30 July in Lerici. Begun in 1976, on the initiative of the then parish priest, Monsignor Franco Ricciardi, the Lericine celebrations represent a cultural and spiritual point of reference for the diocese. Interrupted due to a pandemic in 2020, the event will be in a reduced form but will have two fixed points in the bishop’s initial Mass and, on Wednesday 3 August, in the conferral of the “Angelo Narducci” prize: the special commission, made up of the parish, the diocese and the direction of Avvenire, has chosen the journalist and writer Lorena Bianchetti, the popular face of the RaiUno TV program «A sua immagine». The award will be presented by the bishop and director of Avvenire Marco Tarquinio during an outdoor evening in the Rotonda Vassallo, in the center of the Lericino seafront. Bianchetti will be interviewed by the journalist of the Catholic daily Lucia Bellaspiga. The parish, led for several years by Fr Federico Paganini, is in the meantime preparing some other initiatives, which will take place in collaboration with the newspaper in the days of the first week of August. On the other hand, the resumption of the traditional evenings of “dinner together” in the playground of the rectory is postponed to next year.
Egidio Banti
In Castellaneta listening to young people
Also this year the diocese of Castellaneta celebrates Avvenire with a discussion on current events. Appointment on the evening of 1 August, in piazzale Kennedy in Castellaneta Marina, on the theme “More energy in the South: a confrontation between young people and the economic realities of the area”. “Avvenire is an authoritative and credible voice – comments Don Oronzo Marraffa, diocesan head of the Social Communications Office and vice-president of the Catholic Weeklies Federation – with a gaze that focuses on the person and the common good and the polite and firm style of those who are not afraid of have his say even when, as often happens, he resembles David versus Goliath and has to deal with mainstream thinking ». In addition to bishop Sabino Iannuzzi and the director of Avvenire Marco Tarquinio, Alberto Biancardi, secretary general of Arel, the Research and Legislation Agency, a representative of the Puglia Region on activities for the third sector, and Don Davide Abascià, regional person in charge of youth ministry. «We have chosen to put the boys at the center for the second year. It is urgent to start again not so much “from” young people as “with” young people – explains Marraffa – putting in place the best resources of credible adults, who will help them to dream and realize a sustainable future for all ». Also for this reason, the guest will be the actor Lino Guanciale, who will talk about the young-media relationship and the experience of husband and father engaged in social work.
Marina Luzzi