Feast and Cult of San Benedetto il Moro
Description
Feast and Cult of San Benedetto il Moro
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Technical sheet prepared by: Region of Sicily - Department of cultural heritage and Sicilian identity - CRicd: Regional center for inventory, cataloging and documentation and Sicilian regional film library
No. Prog.
123
Bene
Feast and Cult of San Benedetto il Moro
Book
REI - Book of celebrations
Approval date
20-10-2008
Categories
patronal feast
Town \ Province
Palermo
Destination
Contrada Santa Maria di Gesù, Monte Grifone
Common
Palermo
Local denomination
The Santo Moro
Chronological News
San Benedetto Manasseri, also called Benedict of San Fratello e Benedict the Moor was born in San Fratello (PA) in 1524 by Cristoforo and Diana, coming from Africa and brought to Sicily as slaves: his cult has spread in Sicily since his death in Palermo on April 4, 1589.
Various events concurred with the institution of his feast, starting with the miracles performed by the Saint which recall his qualities as a thaumaturge; later on 24 April 1652 the Palermitan Senate proclaimed him co-patron together with Santa Rosalia and intercessor of the city, undertaking to go every year on the anniversary of his death on a pilgrimage to his tomb carrying four large candles; on 15 May 1743 Pope Benedict XIV proclaimed him blessed and in the following years the requests for canonization continued, until in 1777 the heroic nature of his virtues was recognized by the Congregation of Rites, in 1790 the veracity of the miracles he performed and on 24 May 1807, finally, the proclamation as Saint of the Catholic Church by Pope Pius VII with the Bull Civitatem Sanctam (the first black saint in history).
Following his canonization, the feast spread to three different communities: in his hometown, in San Fratello, where the saint is celebrated from 9 to 17 September; April 4 in Palermo from 1652 in memory of his death; in Acquedolci, the last week of August. The cult is also alive in Spain and especially in South America, where it is recognized as the patron saint of black people.
recurrence
Annual
Data
April 4th (historical festival); today the last Sunday of June
opportunity
Commemoration of the death of San Benedetto il Moro
Function
Commemorative / devotional
Actors
Civil authorities (the Mayor) and religious authorities (Archbishop of Palermo), bearers of candles, brotherhood of Jesus of Palermo, brotherhoods of San Fratello, brotherhood of Acquedolci
Participants
Entire city community, devotees, tourists
Description
The feast of San Benedetto il Moro in Palermo celebrates the commemoration of the death of the saint "Moor" of Sicily, a native of San Fratello and co-patron of the city together with Santa Rosalia. In Sicily the saint is solemnly celebrated on different days depending on the city that celebrates him. In particular in San Fratello it is celebrated on September 17 and in Acquedolci on the first Sunday of August.
In Palermo, the feast consists of a commemoration of the death of the saint which took place on 4 April 1589 in the same city. On the resolution of April 24, 1652, the Palermitan Senate instituted the feast, proclaiming the patron saint and intercessor of the city and pledging to make a pilgrimage to his tomb every year on the anniversary of his death carrying four large candles. Today the feast of San Benedetto has been moved to the last Sunday in June and is a celebratory moment that involves all the civil and religious authorities of the city of Palermo.
The celebrations begin on Thursday with the alborata and the torchlight procession on Mount Grifone, an evocative place where the Convent of Santa Maria di Gesù is located, where the remains of the Holy Moor are kept. It continues on Friday with mass celebrated together with some faithful from Brazil, some conferences and in the evening there is a concert by the choir of the municipal police. On Saturday, other meetings and a small fair of typical local products are organized. The celebration ends on Sunday with the solemn liturgy presided over by the Archbishop of Palermo, in the presence of the Mayor of the city who will make the traditional offering of candles. Concludes the solemn procession through the streets of the village of Santa Maria di Gesù.
In November 2013 on the 361th anniversary of the proclamation by the Palermo Senate of San Benedetto as Patron of the city (1652) and on the 270th anniversary of the beatification by Pope Benedict XIV (1743) the Municipality of Palermo and the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity inaugurated the "Garden of San Benedetto il Moro" at the Convent of Santa Maria di Gesù where the "Cypress of San Benedetto" still stands today, one of the oldest trees in the city, which according to the tradition originated from the prodigious rooting of the stick that San Benedetto “il Moro” had driven into the ground next to the small hut, now a chapel, in which he lived as a hermit.
Catalog Sheet
REFERENCES
River, Giovanna. 2002. The Santo Moro, Palermo: Franco Angeli History.
Hyraxes, Benedict. 2009. Bibliography on San Benedetto il Moro. Published, unpublished and handwritten works on San Benedetto il Moro da San Fratello, Melegnano (MI): Montedit.
Morabito, Vittorio. 2000. San Benedetto il Moro, from Palermo, protector of the Africans of Seville, the Iberian Peninsula and Latin Americain Negros mulatos zambaigos. African deroteros in the Iberian worlds, edited by B. Ares Queija and A. Stella, Seville: Escuela de estudios hispano-americanos.
Sitography
Filmography
Discography
Footnotes
Holy Mary of Jesus (Santa Maria re Giasu), is a locality or hamlet of the municipality of Palermo. It is located at the foot of Monte Grifone, among the other villages of Ciaculli and Belmonte Chiavelli. The village is known in Palermo for the presence of the homonymous cemetery and the convent of San Benedetto il Moro, where the remains are kept.
In Santa Maria di Gesù the cultivation of citrus fruits, such as mandarins and lemons, and other varieties of fruit is still practiced today.
In 1592 the first translation of the saint's tomb was carried out in the Convent of Santa Maria di Gesù, where his body was found "uncorrupted" and "fragrant". In 1611 another translation was held at the behest of King Philip III of Spain and Cardinal Giannettino Doria.
On January 3, 1989, on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the saint's death, the reconnaissance of the body of St. Benedict was carried out.
S. Benedetto «il Moro» is the first Sicilian saint for whom a regular canonical process of beatification and canonization took place.
Author Card
Chiara Dell'Utri
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