On the last Sunday in October the commune of Craco celebrates the festa of San Vincenzo, the patron saint of the town.  This timeless event was recorded in the Public Broadcasting Service television series of “Travels” as a segment in the Colors of Italy. 

Now a new discovery about the Craco patron is more relevant to us in North America and presents another opportunity to connect to our ancestors.   

Stephen LaRocca, President of the San Rocco Society of Potenza and a fellow Cracotan, has been sponsoring a Mass in recent years on the last Sunday in October just as is done in Craco to honor San Vincenzo.  His Mass honoring our patron saint has been held at St. Joseph Church in the Lower East Side of New York.  This is the area that was the early neighborhood for our Craco ancestors.  It seems that although they were prospering in the new world, they felt a need to bring their ancient protector here.   

Although we do not have the details yet about how and why the early Crachesi immigrants brought what is said to be the original statue of San Vincenzo over from Craco to America, we do have some background.   For many years, the statue was kept at St. Joachim’s Church, where Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen to be declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, began her ministry in 1889.  Despite protests by former parishioners, including Jimmy Durante,  St. Joachim’s Church was demolished in 1959 to build apartments.  As many people drifted from the area and with the demolition St. Joachim’s, the statue of San Vincenzo was at risk.  It was rumored that the statue was destroyed along with St. Joachim’s Church.

But apparently the combination of the Church, a few Cracotans of great faith, and Providence were instrumental in moving the ancient statue and a relic of bone from San Vincenzo to a new home to await a “rediscovery.”

On October 28^th at noon a Mass will be said at St. Joseph Church for San Vincenzo, which coincides with the festa occurring in Craco.  To those members in the greater New York area, this represents a unique and historic opportunity for you and your family members to connect with our native town. 

  The Craco Society invites all Crachesi, especially those in the Greater New York area to attend this Mass.  To Society members who because of geographic or other barriers are not able to attend, please consider making a contribution to assist St. Joseph Church in maintaining a home for this statue of Craco’s patron saint.  Donations can be sent to:  

San Vincenzo has been patiently waiting and watching over the Crachesi in North America and perhaps in the near future we may be able to visit him as a group during a reunion.  And could it also be possible that some day this ancient statue might even be able to leave the sanctuary in St. Joseph Church and join his new Cracotan devotees in a procession through the streets of Lower Manhattan which was the New World neighborhood of our ancestors?

For more information about St. Joseph’s Church please see:  http://www.stjosephnyc.org/church.html