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News and
Events ~ November 2008
News
from
the Society:
The San Vincenzo Festa organized by the Society in conjunction with the annual Mass at St. Joseph’s Church was a success by any
measure, with the 55 attendees experiencing a beautiful day after a dismal and stormy Saturday in New York. Anna LoCicero, who underwrote the restoration of the statue in St.
Joseph’s and Stephen LaRocca whose dedication to the Patron kept the celebration of the Mass on the 4th Sunday in October alive were honored guests.
Adding to the event was the location of the Gallo family who cared for the two San Vincenzo statues in New York for years. They were able to provide information and historic
artifacts relating to the background of them. Besides photographs of the statues, they made a gift of the original banner from the Società San Vincenzo di Craco that was displayed
during the Mass. After the Mass, a bone reliquary was discovered with the statue and displayed for the group. There is no information about this and represents and
opportunity for the Society to continue delving into our history. How and when this was transferred from Craco is a total mystery.
An interesting footnote to the event was that the Mass in Craco was moved to 6PM, Italian time, so that it was being celebrated concurrently with our events in New York.
Additional photographs from this event can be seen by clicking here
or visiting the Photo Album page.
Viva
San Vincenzo!
Joseph Rinaldi and Stephen LaRocca pose next to the Society of San Vincenzo Martire flag presented to the Craco
Society by the Gallo Family.
The reliquary containing the sacred bone relics of San Vincenzo Matryr.
The San Vincenzo statue entrusted to the Society by the Colabella/Niceforo family.
Those who attended the San Vincenzo Mass last month received a copy of a special booklet prepared by The Craco Society to
commemorate this special event. San Vincenzo's long and continuing connection to the Crachesi in Italy and New York has been documented in two Italian
language publications from Craco that give background on the Saint and the festival in the town, and have been translated into English. The booklet from the Mass
also includes information about the Cracotan
immigrants' efforts to maintain this cultural tradition in New York. You can download a PDF copy of this publication by clicking
here or on the image above.
The Craco Society is pleased to announce the naming of a new
Honorary Member, Fr. Regis Gallo OFM, in recognition for the contributions of his family in preserving Crachesi history and culture.
Joe Rinaldi, President of the Society, said in making the
announcement, "The Board of Directors was overwhelmingly driven to recognize this family who made a major contribution to preserving the culture, traditions, and
history of the town of Craco and of the American immigrants from there who maintained a devotion to San Vincenzo. We felt Fr. Regis would be
the most appropriate designate. We welcome him as a member and hope this expression of appreciation will also honor the whole Gallo family."
 The selection of Fr. Regis Gallo OFM, as an Honorary Member of The Craco Society is as a
representative of the Gallo family. This family made several significant contributions supporting our goals. Well before the Society's
founding they were protecting Crachesi history and tradition. Vincenzo (James) Gallo and his wife Angela Rosa Tuzio were born in Craco and immigrated to New York where
they became active in the Società S. Vincenzo di Craco. In 1957 when St. Joachim's Church in New York was facing destruction they took the two statues of
San Vincenzo from there into their home in Brooklyn and protected them for ten years until the statues were placed at other churches. Meanwhile, their son
Salvatore and his wife Rita preserved the banner of the Società S. Vincenzo di Craco which might be the original dating back to 1900. James and Angela
Gallo's daughter Vincenzina and her husband Anthony Mule safe guarded a collection of photographs with early images of the San Vincenzo statues and the Società S.
Vincenzo di Craco. During his years of service, Fr. Regis gathered material and wrote an English adaptation of the story of San Vincenzo. In
mid-October upon learning of the existence of The Craco Society, the Gallo family members immediately donated all of these items to the Society as gifts with the intent
of supporting the mission to preserve the history, traditions and culture of Craco. These wonderful gifts will be lovingly preserved by the Society but
also be used at appropriate events.
Craco Society President Joe Rinaldi and Mayor Domenico Copetti
Gifts presented to The Craco Society from the Comune di Craco during the Society's Inaugural trip to to Craco in June
of 2008 include four works of art: an engraved crystal commemorative plaque, a beautifully framed photograph of Craco Vecchio, and two original paintings from local
artists. Other poignant and meaningful tokens of friendship include a bouquet of stalks of wheat and grapes, and old Italian coins. You can visit our "virtual museum"
by clicking here
or
on the above photograph. Additionally, the museum can be found on the Exclusively Ours page.
To join in the celebration of the annual Madonna della Stella Feast in Craco, and the opportunity to
take advantage of off season rates and lower airfares, we've asked several travel agencies to quote prices for a May 2009 trip. The group would leave about April 29,
2009 and return about May 6, 2009, unless you decide to extended your trip. The package being considered would include:
1- Roundtrip airfare from New York (arrangements can be made from other points of departure)
2-Transfers to and from hotel
3- Seven nights hotel with breakfast and dinner daily
4- Bus transport to and from Craco (3 days)
5- Bus transport to selected tourist attractions in the Region.
It is hoped that the cost per person would be lower than last year. If you are interested in the trip, please e-mail us at
memberservices@thrcracosociety.org with an estimated number of people that
might travel with you. This is not a commitment, but it will allow us to estimate the number of participants so the travel agents can quote a group rate.
Events this Month in Craco:
Novembre
Nov
1 – All Saints Day
Nov
2 – All Souls Day
Plant
grain
November
1st celebrates All Saints Day.
The church is open all day for people to make
offerings to the departed souls.
People will bring offerings of grain, ceci, fave,
and other legumes to the church where they will be
placed into sacs.
The priest will sell these to raise funds for the
church.
November
2nd: The Priest
celebrates mass for all departed souls, everyone visits
the cemetery to honour the departed souls – bring a cerrotto (candle) to the graves.
Click
here to view
A
Year in Craco. Events in Craco for every month are
listed. Thank you to Joe Rinaldi in Canada for his
contribution to this page.
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