| Italy – The exhibition of the Shroud during the Bicentenary year |
| Vatican – “Passio Christi, passio hominis” |
The accommodation available at Vadocco has also been fully occupied with those pilgrims coming to Turin for the display of the Shroud, Fr Franco Lotto, Rector of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians explains. The church, the religious souvenir and book shop are open non-stop from 6.00 in the morning until 19.00 in the evening.
“We have had some extra help from some young confreres also in the sacristies,” Fr says Lotto. As well as the Basilica other churches are kept busy: the little church of Saint Francis of Sales, the Pinardi chapel, the Saint Peter crypt. And if these are not enough for the groups, in the square there are also the secondary church and the chapel of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians at number 27 in Piazza Maria Ausiliatrice. On ordinary days there are 20 Masses, and 40 on Feast Days.
During May they are expecting 2,000 pilgrims from Milan accompanied by Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, and 200 from Aquila, which was hit by the earthquake on 3 April 2009. From abroad, 800 are coming from Paris with Cardinal André Armand Vingt-Trois, as well as Germans, Spaniards and people from Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium, Greece, Denmark and England. Most of them have booked by internet.
In spite of Fr Lotto’s modest tone, great efforts have been made at Valdocco to ensure that all the visitors have an unforgettable experience. For many, “Mary Help of Christians” and Don Bosco are high on the list of places to visit after the Duomo.
Twelve guides are available able to explain to visitors – also in English, Spanish and French - the Salesian birthplace. All the internal guide-signs have been renewed for the occasion and outside visitors’ centres have been prepared.
Among “special” events being organised are an organ concert and two choir concerts. In one of the corridors beside the Basilica pilgrims can also admire accurate photographic reproductions of the Shroud and the negative before the restoration undertaken in 2002.
“There are a lot of people coming and going!” – the Rector of the Basilica explains concerned to ensure that the pilgrims have the spiritual assistance they want – “For us it is important that they feel Don Bosco’s heart still beating in these places where he laboured for the good of the young and of the Church and at the same time, that they have a spiritual and prayerful experience.”
Fr Lotto and all the Salesians in Valdocco are now getting ready for the great Feast of Mary Help of Christians which will coincide with the final days of the display of the Shroud. Among other events taking place in those days are a meeting for all the Salesian novices in Europe, and for the Salesian Bishops.
Published 04/05/2010
