Santa Severina – Last Friday, 14 June 2024, the important conference dedicated to “Pope Zacharias” was held at the Diocesan Museum, organized by the Rotary Club of Santa Severina in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Crotone – Santa Severina.
In the background the reference to the origins of Pope Zaccaria and to the sources that see Santa Severina as his hometown.
The historical expert, Monsignor Francesco MilitoBishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Oppido Mamertina – Palmi, spoke about the origins of Pope Zaccaria and his countless ecclesiastical actions in a room packed with Rotarian, civil and ecclesiastical authorities, as well as Rotarian members and the citizens of Santa Severina.
Also present at the important Rotary event Monsignor Angelo Raffaele Panzetta, Archbishop of the Diocese of Crotone – Santa Severina and Don Gino Gulizia, Parish Priest of Santa Severina.
The Conference aimed to offer a structured and organic report of more precise information on Pope Zechariah, in order to highlight the strong points and conclude unequivocally on the topic in question.
The day in general dedicated to the Conference on Pope Zacharias was preceded in particular by the delivery ceremony, by the Santa Severina Rotary Club, of the plaster statue created by the citizen of Santa Severina, Alfonso Greco, who donated it to the citizens.
The statue was installed, in the presence of many participants, in the niche specially created by the Rotary Club of Santa Severina and intended to house the statue outside the house in the historic center where Pope Zaccaria was born.
To execute the blessing of the simulacrumMonsignor Angelo Raffaele Panzetta who together with the President of the Santa Severina Rotary Club, Antonella Nocita, Monsignor Francesco Milito, Don Gino Gulizia, the Governor Franco Petrolo, the Deputy Mayor Pietro Vigna and the Minimayor Marta Malfei, removed the valuable velvet cloth blue that enveloped her.
This was followed by the conference on Pope Zaccaria in the Diocesan Museum with the lectio magistralis of Monsignor Francesco Milito who defined the meeting as “very important because the birth of Pope Zaccaria passes through various accredited historical sources”.
He underlined, among other things, that “Pope Zaccaria is a Calabrian from Santa Severina where he relies on the mother house, which we saw a little while ago, and that a positive argument can be made from the library of the Lateran canons which is independent, and which is even more prior to the Calabrian history, which practically indicates that it is Calabrian, that is, being and being part of the canons of the Pope’s Basilica and among those the cult is also indicated and the most accredited source is that, in the absence of aspects in favor of the undisputed but from another discussed or questionable source, one can arrive at this conclusion.
At the end of his speech, Monsignor Milito proposes that “the meeting with the Rotary Club of Santa Severina and the Church can provide history with encouragement to continue on the reflections on making available the studies carried out and the written sources acquired in a collection of documents to be preserved in the library and disseminated for future generations.”
PDG Alfredo Foca’ spoke with explicit references consisting in accrediting the period in question with the political-cultural project of Cassiodoro and also Monsignor Angelo Raffaele Panzetta who highlighted that Zaccaria derives from the Greek “Zacaro” which means “memory”.
The conclusions were assigned to the Governor Franco Petrolo who thanked the Santa Severina Rotary Club for having carried out an important service for the valorisation of the territory, stating that he came with great pleasure to Santa Severina several times in this Rotary year, rediscovering a territory, a village and a history that also includes the theme of the origins of Pope Zaccaria.
