THE DREAM OF IMMIGRANT TORRESI RESIDING IN TORONTO
When the Torresi people embarked on their trip across the ocean they brought with them an ardent desire and a spark of faith that remained in their hearts and was rekindled every year in the month of August.
In that month, the nostalgic reminder of the feast of the Madonna delle Grazie is revived. Every immigrant is reminded of the preparations that take place prior to the feast of the 6th – 9th of September, which is a momentous event for the small town of Torre di Ruggiero in Calabria.
On every occasion that Torresi in Canada would come together the same phrase would be repeated “Why do we not bring our Madonna to Toronto?”
Don Pino Silvestre, a fellow countryman, annually visited his brother in Toronto. During his stay he would always visit his friends, and one day in the company of Vincenzo Russomanno and Vincenzo Sanzo he went to visit Vincenzo Gagliardi. In their discussion of their hometown, Torre di Ruggiero, and the annual feast the desire was expressed on behalf of all Torresi resident in Canada to organize something in Toronto to commemorate the feast of the Madonna delle Grazie. The response was positive, and Vincenzo Gagliardi enthusiastically invited Don Pino to return to Toronto.
In the meantime, Vincenzo Russomanno and Frank Cirillo eagerly made preparations to locate a church that would aid us in celebrating the Madonna delle Grazie. On August 23, 1987 at 3:30pm all Torresi miraculously came together at St. Jude Church and Don Pino celebrated the first mass in honour of the Madonna delle Grazie in Toronto.
At 4:30pm after the celebration of the mass all participants proceeded into the church hall where the great desire was expressed to Don Pino to have a copy of the Madonna made for Toronto. This humble priest immediately understood the importance of this request and he accepted the challenge.
On August 30, at the home of Frank Cirillo, with much emotion and enthusiasm the first meeting was held to realize the dream of Torresi. Even though this marvellous land had offered them many wonders, their soul was not at peace because all felt the void of not being able to commemorate Our Lady.
With strength and courage, the community acted on the desire of all Torresi. Antonia Gagliardi suggested that all those who wanted to participate contribute money and all accepted.
After much dedication and research, Don Pino was able to find a wood-carving expert on the Island of Gran Sasso capable of making the statue.
On June 6, 1988, Frank, Liberata and Vito Cirillo left for Italy and on June 13, accompanied by Don Pino Silvestre, went to take possession of the statue.
Giuseppe De Giorgio, who, at that time, was president, and his wife, Stella, joined the group on June 12 to be present at that exciting moment when they were to take possession of the statue. During the evening of June 14 at precisely 8:00pm when the statue arrived in Torre di Ruggiero, they realized that the new statue did not resemble the original one that resided in the Shrine.
To solve the problem, Don Bruno Sodaro, Pastor and Rector of Torre di Ruggiero, intervened. Having realized the wish of the community, Don Bruno, very diligently, made a great effort to accommodate the wish of the Association. To that end, he decided to invite the wood-carving specialist to Torre di Ruggiero so that, by looking at the original statue located in the shrine, he could reproduce it more accurately.
On August 4, 1988, Franco and Vito Cirillo, delegated by the committee, left once again for Italy and went to the Island of Gran Sasso. The day following their arrival, they announced the much-awaited good news: the new statue was an accurate replica of the original.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE COMPLETION OF THE STATUE
MARY BEGINS HER JOURNEY
On the evening of August 6, 1988, Our Lady started her journey.
The first milestone was the shrine of Torre di Ruggiero after a brief stop at Mileto, where she was dressed in royal clothing. The next day, the statue was brought to Torre di Ruggiero, where she was received at the crossroads of “Sambastiano” by thousands of people waving flags to welcome her as Queen of the Torresi of Toronto.
Don Bruno Sodaro, with great joy and emotion, unveiled the statue and blessed it. Afterwards, all those present accompanied the statue in procession to the interior of the Shrine.
The bells were ringing joyfully as the statue of Our Lady entered the shrine.
Hymns and songs of joy were sung and tears, caused by deep emotion, could be seen on the faces of all present during the Mass.
BLESSING OF THE STATUE AT TORRE
DI RUGGIERO
THE DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL OF OUR LADY
After one day of residence in the Shrine, precisely on August 9, 1988, Our Lady of all Graces, without luggage, was placed on one of Air Canada’s Boeing 747, headed for Toronto. On that flight, by chance, was travelling Mrs. Antonella Daniele in De Fazio, of Torre di Ruggiero. It was a long journey, and, because of technical difficulties, the plane made a brief stopover and continued on its journey to Toronto.
On August 10, 1988, at noon, the statue of Our Lady arrived at Toronto International Airport. Giuseppe and Stella De Giorgio, Liberata Cirillo, and Natalina Gagliardi, with great emotion, gave a warm welcome to the statue. At 5:30pm, the statue of Our Lady made a triumphant entrance into St. Philip Neri church, the throne of Our Lady’s choice, where many people were waiting.
The first novena, consisting of rosary and mass, in honour of Our Lady began August 27, 1988 and, on September 3, at 5:30pm, the statue was dressed by Sister Giovanna, who belonged to the Carmelite Sister Order.
The dress was of white brocade, embroidered in gold, with a mantle of the same material but turquoise colour and ornate with stars and other beautiful shining designs that cover her from head to toe.
On her head she wore an regal crown made of silver with gold plating, and was slightly bent toward the people. With her left hand, Our Lady was holding a beautiful child: Jesus, to whom she was pointing her right hand in a gesture of invitation to all present to turn to Him. Her eyes were full of tenderness; her mouth was smiling with a delicate sweetness. Her appearance was so noble and touching that the sight of that image inspired people to pray and to orient their lives towards holiness. On the vigil of the feast at 5:30pm, the statue was placed on the altar of the church covered with a white cloth.
When Mnsg. John Inverinci, in the presence of Don Pino Silvestre, Fr. Guglielmo Corbo, and Fr. Charles Zicchella, unveiled and blessed the statue, tears of emotion and joy ran down people’s faces, not only from those of Torre di Ruggiero, but also from many others that were present at the ceremony.
The spontaneous acclamation from all people present was unforgettable because from the heart of the people came an enthusiastic and loud cry: VIVA MARIA.
September 4, 1988 was an important day for the people of Torre di Ruggiero residing in Toronto. A great feast was organized by the Association in Toronto. In attendance were many townspeople residing in Montreal and the USA. In addition, the Mayor of Torre di Ruggiero, Giuseppe Pitaro, came from Italy with a group of 35 people belonging to the pro-loco group.
The novena and the feast were animated with organ music played by Toto Nistico. For the first time, Our Lady of Grace of Torre di Ruggiero gathered together all Torresi of Toronto and from other places in North America. The church was overflowing. Don Pino celebrated Holy Mass using his beautiful homily to tell the story behind Our Lady of Grace of Torre di Ruggiero and the entire congregation was deeply touched by his words.
At the end, the statue of Our Lady was, for the first time, carried on the shoulders of people from Torre, along the streets of Toronto accompanied by music singing and white and blue flags in an unforgettable procession.
At the end of the procession, all participants gathered in the parish hall to complete the day with food, drink and much socializing. Afterwards worshipers moved to the schoolyard and spend the rest of the evening dancing under the stars.
The statue was carved by Casa Salli Palmina Lucci, C.A.A.R.T., Casa Artigiana, Articoli Religiosi, Isola Gran Sasso, Italy. The cost of the statue was lit. 5,250,000.00 (five million two hundred and fifty thousand lire). The sacred clothing for the statue was all offered. The mantle was offered by Vito and Inga Cirillo, Domenico and Maria Grazia De Giorgio, and Nicola and Angela De Giorgio.
The dress was donated by Maria and Franco Aversa, Antonio and Antonia Gagliardi, Graziella and Joe Orlando, Elisabetta and Cosimo Tavone and by Tommasina and Tony De Caria. Our Lady’s Crown was donated by Elisabetta and Vito Cristello, while the crown of Baby Jesus was donated by Vincenzo and Maria Grazia Russumanno.
The pedestal was donated by Natalina and Salvatore Gagliardi, Antonio and Maria Apa fu Lorenzo, Agostino and Vincenza Pelaggi, and Eleonora and Giacomo Armogida. The banner for Our Lady was donated by the brothers Tommaso, Domenico and Antonio Barbieri. The second mantle was donated by Maria and Vincenzo Apa; the third mantle and the dress were donated by the Association; the fourth mantle was offered by the youth group of Torre di Ruggiero; the fifth mantle was donated by Liberata and Franco Cirillo. The dress made in 2003 was donated by a devotee whose name is written in heaven. The gold necklace for Our lady and Baby Jesus, to be worn on the day of the Great Feast, was donated by Antonio and Graziella Lupusella. The gold bracelet, also to be worn on the day of the Great Feast, was donated by Stella De Giorgio, Natalina Gagliardi, Maria Aversa, Maddalena Roccatani, Cathy Cunsolo and Graziella Apa.
FIRST FEAST AND PROCESSION IN TORONTO
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SHRINE
The town of Torre di Ruggiero is located in a fabulous green valley, watered by the River Bruca, at 560 metres above sea level and at approximately 57 kilometres from the city of Catanzaro, in the region of Calabria, Italy. Its territory extends over an area of approximately 24 square kilometres and is bordered by the towns of Cardinale, Chiaravalle Centrale, St. Nicola da Crissa, Simbario and Vallelonga.
In past centuries, the town of Torre was divided into seven rural communities named after the local church. One of them was called “Sus Casale,” which was regarded as the most important one. The reason for this was that it included the church where the Madonna Delle Grazie was worshiped. In addition, Sus Casale also included the original little church where the statue of Our Lady was kept. It was rather modest in size but was frequented by people with deep devotion for Our Lady.
On September 8, 1858, where the little church was located, Giuseppe Santucci laid the last stone for the completion of the roof of the present Shrine. The voluntary work of our ancestors was fundamental in the construction of the shrine.
These dates commemorate the most important feast of the year. In the town of Torre di Ruggiero, people organize music, an enormous town fair, light displays and fire works. A solemn Mass is celebrated on September 8, during which, the statue of Our Lady is carried in procession across the square of the Shrine and, on September 9, the statue is brought through the town of Torre di Ruggiero. Thousands of pilgrims from all over Calabria and surrounding regions participate in this solemn event.
In Toronto, because of ecclesiastical laws, we partake in a novena which culminates on the first Sunday of September with a solemn feast that includes a procession and music. This feast coincides with the nativity of Our Lady.