Forlì, 7 May 2024 – A one year Since the dramatic flood of May 16th, the bishop of Forlì-Bertinoro, Monsignor Livio Corazza, addressed a message to the community inviting them to participate in the various planned initiatives. “Let’s come together to rememberlearn, pray and thank”, writes the bishop in the text addressed to the faithful, priests, men and women religious of the diocese and also published on the website www.diocesiforli.it. In particular, Thursday 16 May at 5pm he will be present at a (civil) initiative such as the inauguration of a monument that remembers the disaster near Porta Schiavonia; while at 6pm he will celebrate a mass in Piazza Saffi.
The celebration will be animated in particular by the parishes of Romiti, of San Benedetto and by the associations Agesci, Catholic Action and the Communion and Liberation movement. “We will remember our dead: Vittorio Tozzi and the spouses Franco Prati and Adriana Mazzoli – adds the bishop –. We will pray and show our solidarity with the families and businesses that have been affected and are still in difficulty. But it will also be an opportunity to say thanks to the many benefactors who became protagonists in the immediate rescue and remained close to us even afterwards. In those dramatic days we had to cry for what had happened but we were moved by the many people who were close to us, starting with the young people. We want to tell everyone our opinion recognition and gratitude“. The event will end with a musical tribute by the Forlì music schools.
Furthermore, on the diocese website, the bishop published a personal memory of the days of the flood, lived together with other priests in the seminary in Via Lunga. “Around 8.15pm – he says – I go into the courtyard and see (and above all hear) the waters of the Montone river that begin to flow swirlingly onto the roadoverwhelming everything until it flooded houses and fields, the basement of the seminary, the Caritas Emporium, the headquarters of the Committee for the fight against world hunger, the parish of San Benedetto, the neighborhood…”. In those days the square in front the seminary and library flooded, putting ancient texts and volumes at risk.
“There were also days – continues Corazza – where humanity and brotherhood were stronger than mud. The mobilization of the communities, of ecclesial youth associations and movements in particular, was prompt and unanimous. This is the Church we like! When she knows how to be concrete, generous, intelligent, prompt and engaging.”
Corazza then adds that it was also a time for questions: “God, where are you?, we asked ourselves. God, on May 16, was on the streets shoveling mud and it will be in the minds of those who will design safer places to live and lifestyles that are more respectful of the environment that He has given us.”
