There
are saints for all seasons, places and occupations. Each
town has its own, which is normally celebrated with a
local public holiday. Most have at least a small portion
of their Saint preserved for viewing by the faithful,
some such as Cortona are blessed with the full un-embalmed
body. Artisans, not to be left out have a saint for each
trade. Our local blacksmiths also observe the feast of
Santa Lucia giving yet another day for pious inactivity.
The
canonisation process has not slowed up, quite the opposite.
It used to take centuries before a holy person could move
up the ladder from veneration to, beatification to final
Sainthood. Now it looks like Pope John Paul and Mother
Teresa might go through a much shorter route. Southern
Italy however has a saint to beat them both, canonised
a mere thirty-four years after his death. During his lifetime
Padre Pio was credited with various miracles not least
managing to have built a large hospital next to his monastery,
San Giovanni Rotondo, now a serious rival to Lourdes.
His local appeal has reached almost cult status, his image
and statue as omnipresent as Stalin's ever was at the
height of his power. At a guess at least half the trucks
in southern Italy have a picture of him somewhere on them.
With
many religions ritual plays an important part. In Catholicism
especially so, all those bells and smells and costumes.
On Christmas eve people who never see the inside of a
church for the rest of the year will eat no meat and dutifully
turn up for midnight mass. This period is not without
it controversy however, as every year the Vatican tells
us all that we should not be putting up a tree, a pagan
symbol. The correct decoration is a “Presepi”,
a model crib scene complete with three kings, shepherds,
etc. International consumerism is not to be thwarted however
and during the festive season the towns are crowded with
trees and flashing bulbs. With many houses sporting an
inflated Santa clinging perilously from their balconies,
perhaps with suicide in mind.
The
traditional Presepi is making a come back though in the
form of the Live Presepi. As village rivalry has inflamed
an already competitive spirit, these are no longer simply
a group of people dressed to represent those present at
the Nativity, in some suitably stable like setting. Now
it can be a huge area with a large cast of extras doing
holy land sorts of things . . . making bread, pots, and
so on. There are usually a few Romans, some mounted, shivering
away in their tunics during the December drizzle. Cows
and donkeys are also favoured. But beasts of the barn
have less patience for this sort of thing and effective
ways of expressing boredom. Some of which have been known
to put even angels to flight.
Next
on the calendar is Easter, the most important date in
the Catholic year with the various processions, often
in Ku Klux Klan garb. In the run up to Easter it is usual
to see the local priest, in full regalia, with a couple
of choir boys in tow, going from house to house blessing
family and home. This can lead to problems. Central and
northern Italy have long been areas of support for the
Communist party and while its members, to keep on the
safe side, will still be baptised, married and buried
by the church, this Easter blessing can be a step too
far. It is not unlikely that part of the reason could
be that after the brief ceremony one is supposed to present
an envelope to the priest, one with money in it. As the
various householders religiosity and perhaps available
funds change over the years it is hard for the poor padre
to know where and whether he is welcome or not. A recent
innovation has been for him to leave a blank postal payment
form to avoid embarrassment.
Of
course every single day has some religious significance
and at least one saint to honour. But the next big one
is November 1st, All Saints Day, the day of the dead.
This is when everyone goes to visit their departed in
the local churchyard having made sure the graves and tombs
had been spruced up in the previous week. Even here, though
Hollywood has promulgated its profanity, All Hallows is
of course preceded by All Hallows Eve, or Halloween as
it is more widely known. Celebrating this with its pagan
roots is most unchristian we are firmly told every year
and until recently it passed unobserved. In the last ten
years though, from the occasional kids party held by foreigners
it has grown into the full Anglo Saxon style party. The
super markets full of grizzly rubber masks and plastic
illuminated pumpkins. The children too find trick or treat
much more fun than visiting their decaying ancestors.
Along
with ritual, mystery is the mainstay of the ecclesiastical
world. Mass itself was celebrated in Latin till the mid
60s, a language unknown to most of the faithful and many
of the officiants. One of the most famous thrice-yearly
miracles is the liquefaction of the blood of San Gennaro
in Naples. Southern Italy tends to have a more fervent
religiosity, with Naples itself having over 50 patron
saints. San Gennaro is the most important. Three times
a year the archbishop holds up the phials believed to
contain the dried blood of the saint, which then turns
to a liquid in front of a congregation of thousands and
to the accompaniment of a twenty-one gun salute. Some
mysterious phenomena are more ad-hoc. Each year someone
will discern a face, quite often of the Virgin Mary, in
a damp patch on the wall or even in a pizza, every now
and then a statue will cry blood (though temporal intervention
is often suspected here). These events often attract large
crowds of the faithful, the media and sandwich sellers.
Italy is particularly favoured of course in having the
headquarters and CEO of the Church. The Vatican covers
110 acres of prime Rome real estate, also various basilicas
and palaces, which though geographically separated from
it, are part of this tiny land, locked state. It prints
its own passports, postage stamps and money. It attracts
millions of visitors every year who spend their own cash.
But be warned. Though the Vatican shops accept most major
credit cards, American Express has, for some reason been
excommunicated from its electronic payment system and
at least one of the ATMs needs a working knowledge of
Latin to operate.
The
temporal rule of the Pope once covered a much larger part
of the Italian peninsular, from Rome across to the Adriatic
and all the way up to the Republic of Venice. These Papal
States were born out of the remnants of the Roman Empire.
It was originally know as the “pornocracy” by
its detractors, with the Papal mistresses said to be the
effective rulers. In the late 1800's these states became
part of Italy, however the church still receives rents
on many properties there.
The
church though still very strong is having a big problem
with sex. This is a fairly tough one as most people seem
to like the idea of indulging, whereas the Catholic Religion
seems to think it shouldn't really be a pleasure at all,
at least not as portrayed today. The clergy of course
are not supposed to indulge at all. And while Mafia bosses
are not excommunicated for murder, people trafficking
or supplying drugs (they probably love their mother and
that's the important thing), homosexuality, birth control,
or anything outside marriage gets the Cardinals very hot
under the collar. The flock pretend to listen, rather
as an eighteen year old listens to their parents in these
matters.
I
have no doubt the Catholic church will still be central
to Italian life for years to come, like an elderly unmarried
aunt, respected and revered. Turning up in the same austere
dress to all important family events where her advice
is attentively listened to and ignored.
