Today 4 December, the day dedicated to the patron saint of the Navy, Santa Barbara, at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano his Excellency Monsignor Santo Marcianò, military ordinary for Italy, officiated the solemn mass in her honour. The ceremony took place in the presence of the president of the defense commission Antonio Minardo, the chief of defense staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chief of staff of the Navy, Admiral Enrico Credendino and numerous military, civil and religious authorities.
The relics of the Saint, which came from the small temple of the oratory of the Church of San Martino in Burano, were exhibited in the Basilica, after a previous exhibition in the Historical Library in Palazzo Marina.
The musical band of the Navy and the "Aventine Choir" of the "RomainCanto" Musical Association accompanied the celebration, an evocative moment dear to the Navy personnel and their families.
If Monsignor Marcianò recalled in his homily how: “Celebrating Saint Barbara means for us remembering a Saint Martyr capable of understanding and testifying to what it means to lose one's life and make it a gift for others. This is what is needed to carry forward a commitment like that of the Italian Navy, today increasingly called upon to demonstrate how the defense of our seas and in our seas is truly a defense of human lives."
The Chief of Staff of the Navy, after reading the Sailor's Prayer, during his greeting speech he recalled: “Retracing the history of Santa Barbara we reflect on the spirit of sacrifice and the sense of duty, values that inspire every day the service rendered by the personnel who work with tenacity to face the burdensome commitment of the Navy in current scenarios, facing it together with the families with dignity and great sense of responsibility. I find exceptional the discipline that each sailor expresses in everyday life, in a silent way, the passionate involvement in the activities that mark the normality of the service, aware that in a crew the contribution of the individual and mutual solidarity represent important elements for the success of the mission."
Brief notes on the life of Santa Barbara:
It is said that Barbara of Nicomedia in Bithynia was locked up in a tower and then led to martyrdom for her indomitable Christian faith opposed by her pagan father Dioscuro, who “fourth of the month of December, Emperor Maximian reigning, and Martian being principal…” (around 228 AD), was incinerated by a celestial bolt, a symbol of immediate death without the possibility of redemption.
The martyr, in the imminence of the supreme sacrifice, prayed to Jesus: “…you who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and enclosed the abysses, who commanded the clouds to rain on the good and the wicked, you went over the sea and took back the stormy wind, to which all things obey, grant your wish for your infinite mercy the prayer of your handmaid... I pray to my Lord Jesus, if any person to your praise will remember me and my martyrdom, ... send them grace through your mercy"
From these expressions we perceive the intense connection that links Santa Barbara to the men of the Navy and the Fire Brigade.
The legend explains the reasons why immediately after the invention of gunpowder, in each ammunition warehouse, in particular on warships, out of devotion to the virgin of Nicomedia, there is an image of the Saint on the walls so that they are preserved by fire and celestial lightning the dust deposits which are called "Santa Barbara".
The 4 December of each year men and women of the Navy and those who work for it, in finding themselves with the common origins and values, solemnly celebrate their Patron Saint. It is tradition, in fact, on board ships and in all the agencies and commands of the Armed Forces to commemorate the anniversary of Santa Barbara.
The women and men of the Fire Brigade celebrate their patron saint on 4 December in all the structures present on the national territory and in the commemoration they retrace the activities carried out throughout the year for the protection and safety of people, the integrity of goods and the environment, civil defense and fire prevention.
