Pazzano: the feast of the Most Holy Savior and the Cunfrunta

Act II - The Departure

In front of the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo and along the street, the whole village waits; the band is in the street, still in scattered order. When the priest in white vestments and the mayor with the tricolor appear at the church door , immediately the procession is formed and marches to the New Chapel. The statue of the Most Holy Savior is here, brought in a great collective ritual the night before. Everyone gathers around the Chapel: children, women, the elderly, etc. Amid applause and prayers, the statue is lifted and loaded onto the shoulders by 12 bearers with two "helmsmen." The music of the band is triumphant and festive. The procession starts uphill. Seen from below, the statue's blessing hand seems to caress the mountain. The bearers occasionally take turns, but the Savior never touches the ground, never falters. "Pull Pull": a double chain of men and women holding hands helps pull when the climb gets harder. They are out of breath, but a few prayers are murmured. The band, undaunted, continues to play.

The procession ascends to the Cona

Act III: to the Cona

Outside the village, at the top of the slope, the long procession stops at the Cona, a three-arched holy shrine leaning against the mountain wall. The applause is for the Blessed Sacrament, but also for the bearers! Prayers are said together, led by the parish priest. People catch their breath, drink a glass of moscato, chat, sing sacred hymns. The celebrant intones litanies in Latin and everyone responds "Ora pro nobis." A whole village gathered around an ancient rite: from the families who tenaciously live here to the families who return here even from overseas where just to find their roots.

Act IV: Toward the village

A "Hurray u' Sarvaturi!" marks the end of the collective prayer. Oh-issa! The men firmly lift the statue, The band resumes playing, the procession sets off. As the shadows grow shorter, we return to Pazzano, where those who did not participate in the procession wait by the roadside and wing it. The whole village is festively decorated. The geometric pattern on the street porphyry resembles a carpet of honor. At the beginning of the street the Holy Savior stops, his gaze turned toward the church.

The Cunfrunta is being prepared

Act V: the Cunfrunta

From the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo, out come the Madonna and St. Joseph, amid peals of bells and applause. A lighter sedan chair, theirs. Here in Pazzano - unlike in other countries - the Cunfrunta evokes the episode of the Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Gospel of Luke 2:41-50), the anxiety of the parents who search for him in vain and then the joy of the meeting.

Side by side, Our Lady and St. Joseph set off. The traffic cops make way. The anticipation grows, the hubbub rises. The rite is about to take place. There they are! On the now cleared road, Jesus runs toward them. At the same instant Our Lady and Saint Joseph rush toward Him.

Vow to the saint

The rite is accomplished in a few moments. The Holy Family meets in the center amid applause and mortar fire. St. Joseph goes around Jesus and stands at His side; Our Lady with a bold turn flanks Him on the other side. The Family is reunited! The street is a stream of jubilant people. There is applause for the Cunfrunta, there is the pride of those who ran and toiled, there is the excitement of those who return here every year even from far away, just to feel the unchanging strength that overcomes earthquakes and poverty: that of faith, identity, community.

Act VI: the blessing of the children

The last stretch is traveled very slowly, amid music and bells ringing, with people crowded together reaching out a hand to touch the statues or throw a kiss. The street is narrow. From a balcony a stout man with a vigorous white mustache takes a baby in his arms and brings it close to the Savior's hand, heedless of the emptiness. Then another child, still in swaddling clothes, then another! All the children of the village are lifted up and brought close to the Savior amid applause! And the Savior waits for them, on the shoulders of the bearers. The high, bright sun looks like God's blessing.

Last act: in the church

The bells continue to ring. The Holy Family reassembles and resumes its march, The wide-open church doors welcome Our Lady, then the Savior and finally St. Joseph. There are people everywhere. The last applause is for the Savior who, laid under a red and gold canopy, with a blessing hand greets an entire country that celebrates for him.