On July 13, the parish community of Catanzaro met with profound participation at the church of the Madonna del Carmine to live a moment of great solemnity and emotion: the coronation of the statue of the Virgin of Carmel, chaired by its most reverend excellence Monsignor Claudio ManiagoMetropolitan archbishop of Catanzaro-Squillace.
To lead and coordinate the event were the parish priest, Don Marcello Froiio, and the prior of the archconfraternity of Maria Ss.ma del Carmine, Antonio Ambriani, Which together animated the spiritual and logistical preparation of a ceremony that saw the participation of many faithful and devotees.
Great joy and satisfaction accompanied the return to the parish of the historic sacred furnishings of the simulacrum of the Virgin, which return to popular veneration after an important restoration intervention edited by the company “Addaci Restoration – diagnostics and restoration of works of art”, led by Antonio Adduci of Grisolia (CS).
The fulcrum of the celebration was the imposition, at the hands of the Archbishop Maniago, of the two real crowns in silver: one on the head of the Madonna, the other on the head of the child who holds in her arms. The crowns, a symbol of the royalty of Christ and the Madonna, are part of a wider iconographic set consisting of four elements: the crowned pair, the sickle of the moon with snake and the rear saggie.
Each element, full of symbolic and devotional value, has been the subject of careful conservative intervention. The sickle of the moon, made in a single silver plate, represents the immaculate conception, while the snake with bird head and the pommel narrow in the beak alludes to the original sin, defeated by the purity of the Virgin. The crowns, finely thrown and chiseled according to the styles of the eighteenth -century southern argentoria, differ in size and detail: the main bears a dove at the top, symbol of the Holy Spirit; The minor a radiated cross. To complete the whole, the circular spinning, embellished with twelve stars with bezel that simulate precious stones, symbol of the woman of the apocalypse.
The restoration, which allowed to restore splendor and dignity to the furnishings, It was possible thanks to the generous participation of many faithful and the fundraising promoted by the Archconfraternity and also supported by the Carical Foundation. A tangible sign of devotion that deeply binds the community to Maria Ss.ma del Carmine, recognized queen and mother, the one who accompanies her children on the path of faith.
The restoration intervention was thought not only as an artistic recovery, but also as an act of love towards tradition and spirituality that combines generations of devotees. In this gesture, the community wanted to reiterate the centrality of the Virgin in ecclesial life, entrusting her once again the present and future of the parish.