San Ferdinando, 22 November 2015. Second edition of ‘Solidarity Week – The Hunger of our Neighbour’, a charitable project promoted by the Delegation of Calabria to provide assistance to individuals facing hardships in the region and made possible, as was previously announced, by Esselunga S.p.A. following their donation of a substantial basic foods consignment. The whole operation was the result of an initiative spearheaded by our Grand Prefect, HE The Ambassador Augusto Ruffo di Calabria dei Principi di Scilla. This time round, the charity event reached out to the lovely little village of San Ferdinando (RC), a small municipality overlooking the Gulf area near Gioia Tauro, on the Calabrian side of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The food distribution ceremony was held in conjunction with a religious service celebrated by the local parish priest, Don Antonino Massara, at the ‘Chiesa Madre di San Ferdinando Re’, which turned out to be so packed with people for the occasion that many were not able to find a seat. The prelate felt it imperative to publicly express his thanks to the Order – here represented by the Vice Delegate, Aurelio Badolati, Commander of Merit with Star, the knights of Merit Rocco Gatt and Pasqualino Garrisi, the latter having been at the helm of the initiative – voicing deep gratitude on behalf of the local community too “for this remarkable donation by means of which the light of Christ is bound to shine even more brightly over Calabria.” As Holy Mass drew to a close, the Vice Delegate, returning appropriate thanks, gave a brief talk to provide an outline of the Order’s programmatic goals and, more importantly, to emphasise its historic ties with the Holy Roman Church. There was also time for more surprises towards the end when parish volunteers, headed by the now retired Benefactor Carabinieri Marshal Antonino Guerrisi, unexpectedly presented the Vice Delegate and the contingent of knights who had attended the event with a commemorative plaque in acknowledgment of their significant humanitarian help.
Next destination on the charity mission is Lamezia Terme (CZ).
