(ANS – Noto) – Today 2 March, on the occasion of the V anniversary of his death, a weekend begins totally dedicated to Nino Baglieri, Volunteer with Don Bosco (CDB). The highpoint of the celebrations will be tomorrow afternoon in the Cathedral of Noto, where the process will begin that will lead to the opening of the Diocesan Enquiry for the cause of beatification. On Sunday the festivities will continue at Modica, the birthplace of Nino Baglieri, with the YouthFest 2012 of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) in Sicily, drawing all its  inspiration from his life of holiness.

To honour the memory of Nino Baglieri and begin the celebrations associated with the opening of the enquiry regarding his beatification, this evening in the church of St John the Evangelist in Modica there will be a prayer vigil.

The most awaited and most important point of the celebrations however will occur tomorrow Saturday 3 March: in the splendid setting of the Cathedral of Noto, at 17.00 local time, the official request will be presented for the opening of  cause of beatification. Presiding at the rite will be Bishop Antonio Staglianò, in the presence of other dignitaries, of the Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chávez and of the Postulator General for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family, Fr Pierluigi Cameroni.

The Postulator, in the name of those proposing the cause  the Volunteers with Don Bosco, will present to the Bishop of the diocese Mons Antonio Staglianò, the request  (Supplex libellus). Afterwards the  Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chávez, will speak about the relevance of the witness of Nino for the Church: a life of fidelity and love of life in the style of Salesian spirituality, with a deep sense of the Church, in the spirit of the new evangelisation.

The  canonical process requires that the diocesan Bishop after accepting the request of the Postulator (supplex libellus), consult the Bishops of the Region, make the request public (Editto) in such a way as to obtain information useful in establishing the truth about the Servant of God, consult the Holy See to ensure that there is nothing contrary to the cause (Nulla osta). When these stages have been completed it will be possible to open officially the Diocesan Enquiry with the examination of his writings and the collection of documents.

That the process is beginning of the enquiry into the “saint of Modica” – as the people affectionately called him even in his lifetime –exactly five years after his death, the limit fixed by Canon Law is an absolutely exceptional situation. Normally, in fact, it is after a good number of years.

The celebrations in honour of Nino Baglieri will continue until Sunday: for the whole day at the Palarizza in Modica there will be YouthFest 2012, attended by over two thousand youngsters from all over Sicily gathered round the Rector Major under the slogan “Run to holiness. Like Nino, God’s athlete.”

Published 02/03/2012