The devotion to Santa Rita has been rooted in the hearts of the people of Ragusa for a long time. The parish of Santissimo Ecce Homo is observant of popular tradition. That the celebration, although lived in the name of sobriety, is deeply felt, is demonstrated by the consistent presence of faithful and devotees. Many took part in the symbolic blessing of the roses, the symbolic flower of Saint Rita, in particular on the occasion of the holy mass presided over by the vicar general of the diocese, the priest Roberto Asta (above in the photo by Salvo Bracchitta). Yesterday, the church remained open from 7am to 10pm. The faithful of Ecce Homo have an ancient devotion towards Santa Rita. We can date it back to around the mid-nineteenth century given that the painting depicting the saint and which is preserved in the parish, although it has no dating, can be traced back to shortly after this period. Therefore, the devotion will have begun shortly before the creation of the holy icon. In any case, the parish has always cultivated and consolidated, over the decades, this devotion towards the saint of Cascia.
Among the most significant moments was the homily of the deacon Giuseppe Cascone during the Eucharistic celebration presided over by the parish priest, the priest Salvaore Vaccaro. “The best way to imitate the saints, and even before that the Madonna – underlined Cascone – is to imitate their virtues. Mary is the model of holiness, her holiness is rooted in prayer, from her example we must ensure that our life becomes prayer. True devotion to Mary also consists in imitating her in her prayer, magnifying the Lord with her. In the Magnificat Mary does not praise herself but she lists the magnificence of God that she always loves us, she loves us as we are. Let us start praying together again, like Mary with Elizabeth, let us learn to mark the hours of our day with prayer, as Saint Rita did who dedicated and offered everything to prayer, every difficulty, every pain, every choice”. And, last night, also the homily of the deacon Luca Roccaro. “We ask Rita – the latter highlighted among other things – to always be able to see a glimmer of light in our life, an illuminated glimmer of unity in Christ. We ask her to intercede and grant our wishes, to soothe our suffering, to be able to forgive each other.” The day of the celebration was characterized by an extraordinary cleaning action carried out by the ecological company Busso Sebastiano all around the Ecce Homo church to make the places affected by the transit of faithful and devotees as decorous as possible.
