Feast of St. Antonio Abate

From 18 to 20 January a triduum of prayers, with a crown of praise in St. Anthony at 4.15 pm with S. Mass at 17. Saturday 20 January, after Mass, a concert of the Gospel Choir "Angel Voice" and Sunday 21, at 5 pm Solemn Mass, celebrated by Don Giovanni Galante archpriest of Serradifalco, followed by the blessing of animals and agricultural vehicles in Piazza S. Antonio. The Saint is in fact the protector of animals. On the occasion of the feast in honor of Sant'Antonio Abate, from Rome it was donated to the small church dedicated to him in S. Cataldo, a "ex-ossibus" relic of the Saint, the most illustrious hermit in the history of the Church. Born in Coma, in the heart of Egypt, around 250, at the age of twenty he abandoned everything to live in a deserted area and then on the shores of the Red Sea, where he led an anachoretic life for more than 80 years: he died, in fact, over a hundred years old in 356. Already in life they flocked to him, attracted by the fame of holiness, pilgrims and the needy of the whole East. Even Constantine and his sons sought the advice. His story is told by a disciple, Saint Athanasius, who helped to make his example known throughout the Church. Twice he left his hermitage: the first to comfort the Christians of Alexandria persecuted by Massimino Daia and the second, at the invitation of Athanasius, to exhort them to be faithful to the Council of Nicea. A decorated stained glass window depicting the Madonna del Carmelo, blessed on 1 October 2017 by our Bishop Mario, was recently placed on the façade of the church of S. Antonio Abate. It is an important work donated to the whole city and is part of the sequence of many works that are being carried out in this small Marian temple so dear to the people of San Marino, under the guidance of Archpriest Don Biagio Biancheri.