The ceremony in honor of the blessed virgin of Loreto, patron saint of aviators, took place this morning at the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
The religious function was held by the ordinary military archbishop for Italy, if Monsignor Santo Marcianò, and saw the participation of the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Pasquale Preziosa, air force general, of the top of the Italian Air Force and of foreign military personnel accredited for the Air Force. As always, the basilica received a large representation of the personnel of the armed force.
During the homily, Msgr. Marcianò, in recalling the spirit of the "Jubilee of Mercy", recently inaugurated by the Holy Father with the opening of the Holy Door, took up the key theme of the jubilee year, underlining how "mercy is really the limit imposed on evil [... ] and the military feel the heartfelt responsibility to put a limit on a culture of violence, hatred, revenge, death. "
During his speech, Msgr. Marcianò added that the Air Force plays a role characterized by a real culture, by a style marked by the service of the citizen and of the Nation, a service that sees it always present where the need arises.
At the end of the celebration, General Preziosa, during his speech, took up the theme of mercy, talking about how the Air Force was inspired by this value in its daily work. "Mercy can be declined in a thousand ways. We at the Air Force decline it with the daily emergency medical and humanitarian flights, with rapid intervention in crisis areas. How much Mercy was there in the looks of the pilots who, in the stormy night, they fell on the Norman Atlantic ".
General Preziosa finally addressed the "Mother" of all the aviators, with words of gratitude and an appeal: "Thank you, Madonnina, you also think of Fabio as we all do", referring to 1st class marshal Fabio Giacconi, recently disappeared, whose funeral will be held tomorrow, Friday 11 December at 14.30 pm at the abbey of Santa Maria in Castagnola in Chiaravalle.
During the rite, the fallen and deceased of the Air Force were also remembered, including, in addition to Marshal Giacconi, also the sergeant major Mariano Cannava.
