From July 23rd to August 3rd, the annual celebrations in honour of St. Alphonsus took place in Pagani. This year, however, the celebrations related to the saint’s cult were truly impressive. The anticipation of the Jubilee, in and around Pagani, goes beyond the desire to cross the Holy Door, but is also marked by an extraordinary event: the procession of the body of St. Alphonsus through the streets of the Campanian town. Every twenty-five years, as is now well-established tradition, the relics of the Founder of the Redemptorists become the object of special veneration by the people of God, in a public and official manner.
In preparation for the solemnity, during the days of the novena, specially invited bishops and priests participated, celebrating and breaking the bread of the Word with a community that recognizes the Holy Bishop as its protector and model. A packed program combined moments of intense spirituality with civic celebrations, moments in which the community escaped from its daily routine to enter the sacred time of celebration, a prelude to the eschatological one.
On Thursday, July 31, the Provincial Superior of the Redemptorists of Southern Europe, Fr. Gennaro Sorrentino, former superior of the religious house and parish priest, presided over the evening Eucharistic celebration. In his homily, he emphasized the extraordinary significance of this historic moment for the community, a sign of a Church that walks united and looks to its saints as models of Christian life and as special intercessors with the Lord. St. Alphonsus was a missionary of hope—Fr. Sorrentino began—and his mission to bring the hope of the Gospel to the poorest is a message he never ceased to proclaim, through his words, his writings, and his prophetic presence in the Church and among the most abandoned of his and our time.
And it is precisely under the banner of Hope that, in this Jubilee Year, the Church’s reflections remain at the center of preparation and execution of the procession of the urn containing the venerated relics of the holy bishop. The procession was directed by the parish priest, Father Francesco Ansalone, the community superior, Father Lorenzo Fortugno, the brothers, and a dedicated committee.
By the end of the concelebration, not only was the Basilica packed with an eager crowd, but even the square in front could not contain the crowds who had gathered, not only from Pagani, but from neighboring towns and many other places in the Diocese, Campania, and beyond, to participate in a manifestation of faith of such historic significance.
As soon as the casket crossed the threshold of the Basilica, a moving ovation rose like a choral prayer, which began at that moment and continued unabated throughout the evening. The refrain “St. Alphonsus, pray for us!” was the soundtrack to the entire pilgrimage, sonorously perpetuating the plea for help and protection that, from the Saint’s death until today, has resounded before his relics. In many ways and on various occasions, in the circumstances of civic life and in those of individual families and individuals, Pagani has experienced the effectiveness of the patronage of Saint Alphonsus, the bulwark of defense of the city.
St. Alphonsus, through his Body, returns among his people, his people, his devotees who are accustomed to going to his chapel to venerate him and stop in prayer.
The procession moved its way through the streets adjacent to the religious house, before continuing along the city’s main streets, with a suggestive stop in the historic center.
Presiding over this moment of grace was the diocesan bishop, Monsignor Giuseppe Giudice, along with the provincial superior of the Redemptorists, the priests of the city and the diocese, and the numerous confreres who had come to Pagani from various communities, not only from Italy but also from European countries. They constitute the newly established Redemptorist unit, the Province of Southern Europe, led in its early stages by a major superior who lived for a long time in the shadow of Saint Alphonsus. Among the Redemptorists who took part in the procession were the young confreres preparing to make their perpetual profession, the Prefect of Students, Fr. Maurizio Iannuario, and other Fathers who had come from Naples, Rome, and even Ukraine, testifying to the Saint’s connection with the peoples tormented by war, through the work of evangelization and human advancement carried out by his sons. A moment of sharing and prayer that demonstrated, even physically, the universal face of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, a single missionary body, present in over eighty countries around the world.
Adding to the evocative atmosphere of the procession were numerous associations, confraternities, congregations, and local groups, preceded by their banners and followed by their members, each wearing their own distinctive habit or emblem. Numerous nuns also took part in the event, along with a large crowd of people. The city’s mayor and civil and military authorities followed the coffin. In the act of entrustment, prayed before the City Hall, the mayor entrusted the entire community to Saint Alphonsus, renewing their trust in his intercession and handing down to future generations a spiritual legacy that becomes the city’s identity and a symbol of belonging.
The most moving image was that of a people united in prayer and in the common veneration of a Saint with whom they boast ancient ties, passed down through the generations and still alive today, defying radical epochal changes and demonstrating that faith and the veneration of saints do not follow fashion, but remain a fixed point in the lives of Christians, and in particular of the inhabitants of Pagani, who, regardless of age, vied with one another to pay homage to the Saint whose sacred remains and most beautiful memories they are honored to guard.
Adults and elderly, young people, teenagers and children, the sick in their wheelchairs, entire families marched in procession, proudly paying their loving tribute to the Saint. The animated prayer, the punctuated singing, the cheers, invariably accompanied by the firing of firecrackers and decorated streets and balconies, transformed the city streets into a moving and heartfelt embrace of the Holy Founder.
It’s true: St. Alphonsus never ages! His charm and power of attraction are proof—if proof were needed—of the relevance of his message and the power of inspiration he continues to exert on Christians today, as on those of centuries past. This enduring contemporaneity is manifested in the expressive ways of devout people, capable of inspiring others with their infectious enthusiasm and blending prayer and celebration into a single sentiment. For all the inhabitants of Pagani, St. Alphonsus is one of the family. Welcoming him in the streets of the historic center, in front of the churches, at the town hall, and in the city squares were like the return of a loved one, long-awaited and a bringer of hope. And it is precisely hope that characterized the life and mission of St. Alphonsus, capable of creating spiritual paths that opened new horizons to the hopeless of his time.
At the conclusion of the long procession, the bishop of the diocese placed under the patronage of the Holy Doctor all the people of God entrusted to his pastoral care, along with his sons, the Redemptorists, the Campania region, the local community, and the Universal Church. May St. Alphonsus, Monsignor Giudice expressed his hope, intercede for this community so that its legitimate aspirations for peace and justice may be fulfilled. The blessing concluded the Alphonsian jubilee pilgrimage, which continued with further and repeated expressions of devotion, including within the Basilica. The people seemed still unsatisfied in their devotion and innate desire for contact with the Holy Bishop. An endless line of people filed past his urn, placed in the presbytery: hands outstretched, eyes bathed in emotion, lips murmuring a prayer, and a pause they tried to prolong still further, moments captured and immortalized by cell phone lenses, in the desire to carry with them and share with the world of the web and social media, a powerful experience of faith.
The following day, the liturgical solemnity of Saint Alphonsus, the faithful, flocked from morning to attend Mass and make the customary visit to the Saint. The evening Mass, celebrated by the diocesan bishop and concelebrated by the provincial superior, his brothers, and other priests, in the Basilica’s courtyard, again saw a massive turnout and great religious fervor.
St. Alphonsus is alive! And he continues his mission as a teacher of the Faith and Light of the Church for the people of God who venerate him with conviction and have chosen him as their authoritative teacher and advocate of mercy before the Lord!
Fr. Vincenzo La Mendola C.Ss.R.
