On September 23-24, 2019, the Provincial Custody of St. Daniel and Companion Martyrs in Italy (Calabria) and the Province of St. Agatha and St. Lucy in Italy (Sicily) came together for a joint Definitory meeting in Palermo, Italy. Both Jurisdictions looked to the future with hope, in view of their imminent unification.
The meeting was one of historic significance and warm conviviality. After the first part of their Ordinary Custodial Chapter, held last September 2-5 in Amantea (Province of Cosenza), Italy, the Definitors of Calabria already started “marching together on their way to wonder and encounter”, They felt accepted, as though they were already incorporated into the Sicilian team. The Definitors of Sicily entered Calabria with an attitude of acceptance and blessing. Calabria is surrounded by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and separated from Sicily only by the Strait of Messina. When the two Definitories met, a genuine atmosphere of simplicity and fraternity was generated, one imbued with cordiality and the desire to “march together” by getting to know one another better and sharing joys, sorrows, ideas, goals, methods and resources.
The Definitors of Sicily are Friars Gaspare LA BARBERA, Minister Provincial; Guglielmo BARBASSO, Vicar Provincial; Luca GURRERA, Provincial Secretary; Giuseppe MESSINEO, Domenico CASTIGLIONE and Friar Pietro ARCOLEO, Definitors. The Definitors of Calabria are Friars Giorgio TASSONE, Provincial Custos; Paolo SERGI, Custodial Vicar; Piotr ANZULEWICZ, Custodial Secretary; Ilario SCALI and Rocco PREDOTI, Definitors.
After presentations made by both Superiors and their respective fraternities, the participants discussed the following themes: Youth and Vocation Ministry, Ongoing Formation, and Evangelization.
There was unanimous agreement that we can immediately realize common projects together, large and small, in these areas, bridging each other’s poverty and sharing each other’s spiritual riches and regional peculiarities. As soon as the second part of Calabria’s Ordinary Custodial Chapter (October 7-10) has ended, Friars Diego CANINO and Antonio Damiano CARUSO will meet together to begin the interchange between the two Jurisdictions. Friar Diego is a member of the Custody of Calabria from Montevago (Province of Agrigento), Italy. Friar Antonio Damiano is a member of the Province of Sicily from Castrovillari (Province of Cosenza), Italy.
The process of “osmosis”, towards a common “development”, will be officially launched October 8, 2019, during the second part of Calabria’s Ordinary Custodial Chapter. Friar Gaspare LA BARBERA will be on hand as the Delegate of the Minister General, Friar Carlos A. TROVARELLI, to coordinate the process of unification of the two jurisdictions. At that point, the Custody will be incorporated into the Province of Sicily.
“We are a small flock,” they say, “but together we can make a new Sicilian-Calabrian territory.”
The two days of dialogue, sharing and coordination worked like a think-tank to facilitate drafting a common road map towards the creation of a new entity: The Italian Province of the Immaculate Conception.
Friar Piotr ANZULEWICZ, Custodial Secretary
