On 31 May 1844, with the bull of Gregory XVI “Ut animarum pastores”, the Diocese of Trapani was established. Trapani had been an episcopal seat in the early Middle Ages, before the Islamization of Sicily but the current configuration is the result of the reorganization of the ecclesiastical districts requested by the Sicilian parliament from the Kingdom, then decided by the Bourbon sovereign and ratified by the Holy See.
However, the establishment of a Diocese is not just a legal and administrative question; it has an ecclesial, social, historical and cultural, even theological, value:
“What message does this anniversary contain? What is the connection with the territory, with time and with the Gospel? – says the bishop of Trapani Pietro Maria Fragnelli in announcing the celebrations of the 180th anniversary – We will try to respond together, with synodal style, questioning the Church of yesterday in the light of the Church of tomorrow: memory and vision must intertwine. We are united by the red coral of the love of Jesus crucified for the men and women of our territory. A year of verification and sowing of hope in which the ‘boat’ of the Church renews its commitment to accompany the navigation of today’s humanity, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged, towards ports of new trust, of authentic spiritual and economic growth, of lasting peace for all.”
The celebrations of the 180th anniversary will open on Wednesday 8 May, the anniversary of the visit of John Paul II to Trapani and the feast of Mary, mother of the Church, with a two-part conference that will be held in the Santa Chiara room of the Episcopal Seminary starting at 6.30 pm. Msgr. will speak. Rosario La Delfa, ecclesiologist, professor at the Theological Faculty of Sicily and Giuseppe Notarstefano, professor at the Lumsa in Rome and national president of the Italian Catholic Action. The conclusions will be entrusted to Bishop Pietro Maria Fragnelli.
On May 31st the stamp of establishment of the Diocese currently preserved in the Historical Archives will be displayed in the Cathedral and from 2pm to 8pm a dedicated philatelic postmark will be issued by the Italian Post Office on the front portico of the Cathedral. At 6 pm the bishop will preside over the solemn pontifical mass on the anniversary of the foundation during which three married men will be ordained as permanent deacons: Alfonso Ricca, Piero Vilardi and Salvatore Torregrossa.
The celebrations will continue throughout the year: some events are already being defined which will be held both in Trapani and Alcamo. In particular, the national premiere presentation of the volume “Un libretto piccolo et vetusto tanto” Franciscan editions edited by Sister Monica Maria Agosta OSC, philologist; a conference on the devotion of the Madonna of Trapani and on the apostolic nuncio of Alcamo Salvatore Asta twenty years after his death together with a local association.
