Conflenti – Many took part, on the evening of 25 August, at the coronation of the Madonna della Quercia di Visora to Conflenti. The celebrations in honor of the Madonna after two years of hiatus due to covid have officially come to life. This year, in fact, all the stages that over time have made the celebration a moment of spirituality in the whole Diocese will take place. Hundreds of faithful, as per tradition, already in the afternoon set out for the Basilica, many even on foot, from nearby hamlets and villages.
Last Sunday, the Marian torchlight procession had started the week of festivities. Last night, thousands of faithful took part in the heartfelt event that took place outdoors in front of the churchyard with the evocative coronation ceremony of the Statue of the Virgin of Visora. A moment particularly attended not only by the Conflentese community, but by many faithful of the diocese, so much so as to require the use of the Basilica churchyard in order to accommodate as many people as possible. The wooden statue of the Madonna della Quercia and the baby Jesus, in view of the celebrations at the end of August and on the occasion of the coronation, have been decorated with golden crowns dating back to the 18th century. “Mary, Queen of Peace”, the theme of the 2022 edition and a Russian and a Ukrainian woman crowned the statue. A hug between the two countries still at war. “We will pray for peace – declared the Rector of the Basilica Don Adamo Castagnaro – who knows if this meeting before the Madonna della Quercia is not a sign of a peace that the whole world needs”.
The feast of Our Lady of Visora
This year the focus is on the return of pre-pandemic levels for the celebrations in honor of the Madonna della Quercia di Visora with a vast program of religious and civil initiatives. Festively lit streets and stalls have already been set up along the main streets of the town. Friday 26th August Masses are scheduled throughout the day. Saturday 27 in addition to the masses at various hours, the celebration of 6 pm with the Bishop of the Diocese of Lamezia, Mons. Serafino Parisi, is particularly awaited. The church, they recall, will remain open until midnight and will then reopen at dawn (there will be no traditional Vigil).
Sunday 28, the day of the feast of Our Lady, Masses at all hours: at 10:30 the Bishop will celebrate. The religious program will also include the procession of the Statue through the streets of the town on Sunday at 5:30 pm. A particularly awaited ceremony which, in recent years, has been missed not only among the conflentesi, but among all the faithful from all over the world. At 7 pm the mass. In the evening concert by the Città di Girifalco band. At 11:30 pm the statue of the Madonna will be brought down from the niche. Monday 29 Holy Masses at 8.30 and 10.30 and in the afternoon at 18 the celebration will be preceded by the Rosary. At 7 pm, the statue of the Madonna will return to its niche.
The civil celebrations
As for the civil celebrations, the group’s performances are planned Naca Naca Band – Mediterranean soul, Friday 26; on August 27, instead, the concert of Carbohydrates, an established Calabrian band known for its participation in the TV program “Amici”. Sunday 28 August, at 9 pm in the churchyard of the Basilica, as usual there will be a band concert this year by the band complex “city of Girifalco”. The traditional fair of typical products will be held on Saturday and Sunday in the village, lit up for the festival, another missed event in the past two years; the celebrations will end on Monday 29 August with the concert of Aleandro Baldi.
Finally, remember the appointment of Sunday 11 September (The organizers invite you to participate by reservation) with the fifth edition of “Sulle footsteps of the fathers”. Pilgrimage on foot from the Cathedral of Lamezia to the Basilica of Conflenti with departure after the 7 o’clock mass in the Cathedral from Corso Numistrano.
