The Madonna Fiumarola passes over the Tiber to bless the city of Rome

The Madonna Fiumarola on the Tiber to bless Rome

«We want to ask you to bless the city in this particular and painful time that we hope to leave behind»

(Source romasette.it – ​​by Roberta Pumpo)

ROME – Last night many waited (respecting the anticovid measures) for the arrival of the procession of the Madonna Fiumarola on the Tiber , at the Calata degli Anguillara on the Garibaldi bridge, presided over by Bishop Gianrico Ruzza.

Although the celebrations this year were held in “reduced form”, the prelate, blessing the statue, observed that the faithful want to honor the Virgin by asking her to bless Rome ” in this particular and painful time that we hope to be able to leave to the shoulders to start a new season, which will be challenging but must be of rebirth ».

For the first time the organizers were forced to give up the procession on foot to the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and to avoid gatherings the simulacrum from Ponte Garibaldi was directly transported to the church of Sant’Agata, where it remains exposed all year round to the veneration of the faithful.

The evocative procession on the river , prologue of the Festa de ‘noantri celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel, has been taking place on the last Sunday of July for over twenty years.

The statue carved in cedar wood traveled 5 kilometers on the waters of the Tiber, hoisted on a carabinieri dinghy.

As per tradition, the “peregrinatio” of Madonna Fiumarola started at sunset from the Circolo Canottieri Lazio. Here the effigy, carried by the confreres of the archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and Maria Santissima del Carmine in Trastevere, was dressed by three nuns – one Franciscan and two Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception – hidden by a screen.

Due to the lockdown it was not possible to make a new dress and the simulacrum wore a white dress with gold embroidery and embellished with crystals, made in 2018 by the stylist Alessandro Pischedda of Sulmona. At the head, a golden crown that held a celestial veil. The former blue rowing machine Gabriella Bascelli, vice-president of the Circolo Canottieri Lazio – the first woman to hold the position – has not hidden the emotion and joy of being able to welcome the statue of the Madonna del Carmine for the dressing ritual. After the blessing, the Virgin so dear to the people of Trastevere was brought to the Rowing Club Rome for boarding.

Madonna of Fiumarola (romasette.it)

Following the simulacrum, the canoes of the two sports clubs, the rubber boats of the police and the “warriors” of Rosa Remo, a project aimed at women who have defeated or are still struggling with breast cancer. Many faithful followed the procession from the Lungotevere applauding the passage of the boat and joining the recitation of the Rosary led by Bishop Ruzza , the rector of the church of Sant’Agata Don Paolo Asolan and the new primicerio Don Renato Tarantelli. At Ponte Sant’Angelo, with the dome of San Pietro in the background, prayers were prayed for Pope Francis while near the hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia for those who were infected and were victims of Covid-19 and for their families.

Quindi il ricordo di Claudio Franceschelli, il bimbo di sedici mesi che nel 2012 fu gettato dal padre nel Tevere mentre si trovava sul ponte Giuseppe Mazzini e la preghiera per i carcerati della casa circondariale di Regina Coeli. All’approdo di Trastevere, davanti all’Isola Tiberina dove si erge la basilica di San Bartolomeo, santuario dei Nuovi martiri, la preghiera per quanti hanno testimoniato con il sangue l’amore per Gesù e l’adesione alle beatitudini evangeliche. Guardando verso la sinagoga il pensiero è stato rivolto «ai fratelli ebrei» con i quali si lavora «per una città più umana e per ricostruire il domani, minacciato dall’impoverimento, conseguenza del coronavirus».

Durante la processione, la Vergine è stata accompagnata dalla «Chiesa di Roma, dal suo popolo sofferente pieno di ferite e di speranze», ha rimarcato don Marco Gnavi, parroco di Santa Maria in Trastevere, per il quale in questo tempo provato dalla malattia «dobbiamo riscoprirci fratelli perché tutti abbiamo bisogno l’uno dell’altro».

The mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi waited for the arrival of the statue on the Garibaldi bridge, where he made a floral tribute to the Virgin. For Pietro Solfizi, governor of the archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and Maria Santissima del Carmine in Trastevere, this year “prayer prevailed over the popular aspect”. In the absence of the traditional procession through the streets of the neighborhood, ” many went to Sant’Agata, to the” home “of the Madonna to implore her intercession “.