On February 6, 2024, His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Battista RE, Dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over Mass on the Solemnity of St. Dorotea, the patroness of the Santa Dorotea parish church in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood. The church preserves the mortal remains of the young virgin Dorotea, who was martyred in the year 300 during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian.
A crowd of faithful and devotees, along with many concelebrating priests, prayed to the saint on her liturgical feast day asking for the gift of peace in the world and the justice that must reign among peoples.
Those concelebrating at the Mass with Cardinal RE included the Most Reverend Davide CARBONARO, the newly appointed Archbishop of Potenza, Italy; Friar Umberto FANFARILLO, the Pastor of San Dorotea; Friar Sergio COGNIGNI, the Vice Pastor; Friar Renzo DEGNI, the Guardian of the local San Giacomo friary; the friars of the local community and other priests from the neighborhood.
Also present at the liturgy were civil and military authorities, the men’s and women’s confraternities of Sant’Antonio and Santa Dorotea, the Dorothean Sisters, various parish confraternities, and the faithful. The church was packed.
At the beginning of the Mass, the Pastor, Friar Umberto, welcomed all those present, particularly Cardinal RE, who was celebrating Mass at the Santa Dorotea Church for the first time.
In his homily, Cardinal Re exhorted those present to follow the example of the martyr Dorothea, a woman known for her faith and selflessness. He urged them to preserve the precious gift of faith in their lives, to live it in its fullness, to give witness to it and to transmit it in daily life, in communion with the brothers and sisters they meet.
At the end of his homily, the cardinal blessed baskets of flowers and fruit, given that St. Dorothea is the patroness of florists and fruit vendors. Next, Pope Francis’ decree, granting a plenary indulgence on this occasion, was read out.
The “Chorus Inside Lazio” choir of the Diocese of Rome animated the liturgy.
Finally, Cardinal RE imparted his solemn blessing, and the flowers and fruit that had just been blessed were then distributed to the faithful.
Friar Paul FIASCONARO
