The traditional Eucharistic celebration of the Air Force in homage to the Virgin of Lauretana, patron saint of aeronauts, which occurs on 11 December, was held today morning, Monday 10 December, at the Sanctuary of the Holy House of Loreto.
The celebration, which ideally closed the celebrations of the centenary of the Air Force, was presided over by Msgr. Santo Marcianò, military ordinary for Italy, and concelebrated by the pontifical delegate Msgr. Fabio Dal Cin, and saw the participation of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squadron General Luca Goretti, numerous military and civil authorities and a large representation of young students from the Air Force Training Institutes .
The religious ceremony was opened by Msgr. Dal Cin, who wanted to thank the women and men of the Air Force “for having been an honorable escort of the Celestial Patroness in these hundred years. Inspire yourselves by the beauty of conscience and conduct of the Madonna, with the hope that this bond will always illuminate your mission of peace".
In the homily the military ordinary Msgr. Santo Marcianò reiterated during the Eucharistic celebration: “Today we celebrate the memory of something that began one hundred years ago, while the walls of this Holy House preserve the memory of what happened in much more distant years”, underlined Mgr. Marcianò in the homily.
But everything, in reality, seems and is current to us: the Mystery of God who becomes Man, in Christ, through the "yes" of Mary, just as the precious mission of the Air Force is current which, we could say, is realized in the 'yes' of each of you. A link between memory and current affairs – added Mgr. Marcianò – which can be summarized in the word "new", which concerns you and concerns, in a particular way, the action of God, and the novelty of the celebration that we are experiencing today is first and foremost rooted in the history of the Air Force, of which we all know the great businesses and records, the extraordinary development, the enormous potential. It seems to me that you yourself can be a guarantee of this "new", because in the tragic history of the world - with the war which unfortunately remains a sad and dramatic "actuality" when we hoped it was only a "memory" of the past - the history of the Air Force teaches us that it is possible to respond with gestures of peace to the war initiatives that are multiplying. In these hundred years your contribution to peace has always materialized and expanded. Your mission, which began at a national level, has expanded extraordinarily, enriching itself with international experience and becoming a point of reference for many other countries in the world. The human richness that characterizes you – the Pope told you a few days ago – represents the best guarantee of the fact that your commitment is always directed towards the defense of life, justice and peace and makes you men and women characterized by great passion, commitment , courage and motivation, ready to pay their price of effort and, sometimes, of life. If anniversaries didn't open up to the future – concluded the military ordinary – celebrating wouldn't make sense. This is perhaps the message you intended to convey with the motto of your Centenary, Flying towards the future.
“We are proud and grateful to be here today to close our Centenary”, said the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squadron General Luca Goretti, in his farewell speech at the end of the religious service. “First of all, I want to extend a respectful greeting to those who are no longer physically with us, to those in particular who have painfully left us this year. Their example gives us the strength to look to the future every day. A special greeting and thanks, on this exciting day, to all the personnel of the armed force, the human capital that has served the country for a hundred years and honors our Flag, in particular to the youngest with the hope of continuing to honor the our Tricolor with the same spirit and self-denial of those who preceded them. I thank the families, who follow us and give us the strength to move forward in our vocation". He then concluded the chief of staff “I think I can speak on behalf of all those who in any capacity, every day, in the sky and on the ground, work in the world of aviation, in addressing a special greeting to our mother, to the Virgin of Lauretana, who also consoles and protects us in the most difficult moments. And it could only end in this way, and in this place, the extraordinary journey of the centenary of the Air Force".
After the ceremony, in the churchyard of the Basilica, the Angelus prayer was held and the blessing of the HH-139 helicopter of the 15th wing of the Air Force was held, the department that ensures the precious search and rescue activity on everything every day the national territory, which flew over the Basilica with the Tricolore.
A relationship, that of the Air Force with the city of Loreto, which is based not only on the indissoluble spiritual bond with the patron saint of aeronauts, but which is also consolidated and substantiated in the precious activity of aviation english training center, a body dependent on the schools command / 3rd air region which is based in the town of the Marche region, which deals with the training and assessment of the linguistic skills of Air Force personnel and the assessment and teaching of aeronautical English "Aviation English" to flight controllers and air navigation personnel of the Air Force, but also of other armed forces and ministries.
