The traditional Eucharistic celebration of the Air Force in homage to the Virgin of Loreto, Patron Saint of Airmen, was held on the morning of Tuesday 10 December at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.
The celebration, presided over by HE Mons. Santo Marcianò, Military Ordinary for Italy and concelebrated by Mons. Antonio Coppola, Episcopal Vicar for the Air Force, saw the participation of the Undersecretary of State for Defense, Senator Isabella Rauti and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squadron General Luca Goretti.
The celebration was also attended by a large representation of Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Graduates and Military Troops of the Air Force, civilian personnel of the Defense, military chaplains of the Air Force and of the pastoral area of Lazio, numerous military and civilian authorities as well as representatives of the air components of all the Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the State.
The religious ceremony was opened by Monsignor Antonio Coppola who, in thanking all those present, especially the Military Ordinary Archbishop, underlined the profound ecclesial moment and the full communion with the Sanctuary of the Holy House in living this moment: “Today we live in communion of spirit this moment of profound faith and this day of profound ecclesiality. A celebration is such only if it is lived in the community dimension and in our being Church today, and the most beautiful thing about being Church today is to be gathered around our legitimate Pastor, the Military Ordinary for Italy”. Monsignor Coppola then wanted to greet the boys and girls of the Marescialli School of Viterbo who tried their hand at performing the liturgical pieces that accompanied the religious function: “Their commitment – he said – is the full expression of a family celebration”. Finally, referring to a particular fresco present in the military base of Vigna di Valle and depicting the Holy Virgin, he concluded: “Protect our flight, not only that with airplanes but above all the flight of our entire life”.
Following, in the homily, the Military Ordinary HE Mons. Santo Marcianò immediately recalled how today's ceremony commemorates an important date, that in which Pope Benedict XV, in 1920 - following the legend according to which the Holy House in which Mary was born in Nazareth had been translated, by the hands of the Angels, to Loreto on the night between 9 and 10 December 1294 - wanted Our Lady of Loreto to be chosen as the Patron Saint of Airmen. "The Pope could not have made a better choice. Often you Air Force soldiers - he continued - are compared to angels, and there is no more beautiful image that can represent you precisely because of the particular task of flight that is entrusted to you. A flight that sees you reach different places to help different people in ordinary but sometimes dramatic situations, bringing closeness, support, help. All this is possible thanks to your expertise, together with dedication, because the first is not enough.
Your mission – continued Monsignor Marcianò – is like a vocation, and in every vocation there is a beginning. And this is how I invite you to continue to live the task that is entrusted to you, like a vocation, a call that does not separate personal life from professional life, that does not separate the spiritual dimension from the operational one. Your presence here today demonstrates how choosing and venerating the Patroness does not only mean asking for her help, her assistance, but recognizing that man invokes an absolute that becomes the origin, measure and goal of our actions and of our very being”.
With reference to all those places of crisis, of political conflicts, of the search for difficult international balances, Monsignor Marcianò addressed words of gratitude to the women and men of the Air Force: "You gather and face these difficult realities with a peculiar service, a service to peace, I could not define it in any other way. A service to peace that wants you to be angels in those peripheral places. And my thoughts go to the active contribution that you give in the international missions where, with all the Italian soldiers, you play a very delicate role of protection, of relief, of training, of closeness, in the effort to stimulate paths of dialogue, of reconciliation. Yours is a work of peace, silent, not always known, carried forward with extraordinary sacrifice and with the patience of small steps.
Furthermore, together with the outskirts of war, other outskirts are always open for you to reach, especially in situations of natural disasters, or in health emergencies when the speed of the flight can be decisive, such as for a timely intervention for the transfer of the wounded, for the transport of basic necessities in all those outskirts of marginalization and drama to which you reach and bring salvation.
But it is not only in the extraordinary that your task is expressed, there is also the ordinary. Sacredness is precisely in the everyday, and the everyday nature of your commitment is no less important than your special missions because the center of everything is the defense, protection, and safeguarding of human life. Defending life in every phase, in every situation, is truly the heart of the mission of the Armed Forces. Your example, the spirit of service that prompted your initial 'yes' to the mission, or rather to the vocation, is a sign of hope. Brothers and sisters of the Air Force, entrust your life and your mission to her, Virgin of Loreto, so that Mary may make you more and more Angels of hope, justice and peace, not only for our country but for the entire world”.
Finally, HE Mons. Santo Marcianò, who today celebrated one of his last religious functions together with the Air Force before ending, next April, after almost 12 years, his path as Military Ordinary, expressed himself as follows: "You have helped me grow and improve. With your full humanity, an intrinsic characteristic of being a soldier, you have struck me deeply. You are experts in humanity and you have made me grow, because the radical gift of yourselves, wherever you are, is a concrete fact. Thank you Air Force, I will always carry you in my heart. Thank you for all the good you have done to me and that you have wanted for me".
The Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Air Squadron General Luca Goretti, then took the floor. In his farewell speech at the end of the religious service, he immediately wanted to remember the Fallen and all the families of those who lost their lives "for the good of our country, for our freedom and for our people". The Chief of Staff then thanked all the Air Force personnel who work in silence 24 hours a day, "always ready to provide assistance, aid, defense, training, paving the way for works of justice, solidarity and brotherhood, often through dialogue with different cultures and religions, to build peace together. I am truly proud of you and your Commanders because through you we represent a key element, a symbol of security and certainty not only for our country but also internationally". At the end of his speech, Gen. Goretti invited those present to dedicate a round of applause to the pastoral work of HE Mons. Santo Marcianò: “You have been a guide and a safe refuge for all of us. Thank you”.
As per tradition, the celebrations in honor of the Patron Saint also took place at the Sanctuary of the Holy House in Loreto. Organized by the Aviation English Training Center, commanded by Col. Marco Attanasio, in the presence of a delegation of students from the Air Force Academy of Pozzuoli (NA) accompanied by their Commander, Air Division General Luigi Casali, the commemoration saw the students of the EOLO VI Course participate already on the evening of December 9th in the prayer vigil celebrated by HE Mons. Fabio Dal Cin, Archbishop Prelate of Loreto and Pontifical Delegate for the Holy House, followed by the traditional procession. On the morning of December 10th, the usual Eucharistic function was held, presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Historical notes
The Marian solemnity is linked to the tradition according to which the chapel, venerated in Loreto, is the room in which Mary was born in Nazareth, in Galilee, where she was educated and where she received the angelic announcement. The House of Nazareth had been transformed into a church since apostolic times. Consisting of only three walls, it was placed at the opening of a cave dug into the rock, today preserved in the Basilica of the Annunciation in the homonymous city in Galilee.
Legend has it that the “Holy House” in which Mary was born in Nazareth, preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Loreto, was transported by sea on crusader ships by the “hands of angels”. This small biblical sanctuary, fallen into the hands of Muslims, was saved and transferred first to Trsat, in present-day Croatia, in 1291, then to Ancona in 1293, where it remained for nine months, after which the angels lifted it up again to place it near Recanati and finally in Loreto on the night between 9 and 10 December 1294.
In 1920 the phenomenon of aviation, which had long been limited and reserved for a relatively small number of enthusiasts, won over by the daring aspect of human flight, had experienced a great increase, especially during the tragic period of the First World War. Concrete initiatives were activated to ensure that this new form of mobility had its own celestial patron. The devout tradition of Loreto seemed particularly suitable, and oriented the choice towards the Madonna of Loreto.
The belief in this miraculous “flying” translation prompted Pope Benedict XV, accepting the wishes of the pilots of the First World War, to nominate the Blessed Virgin of Loreto “Patroness of Aeronauts” with the Pontifical Brief of March 1, 24. Mary’s protection, therefore, is not limited to air transport operated by the Armed Forces, but refers to every person who travels and to those, in the aircraft themselves or in ground services, who are responsible for the safety and tranquility of those who are transported.