Pentecost Mass in Syracuse, Sicily

We had the rather nice experience of attending Mass for Pentecost Sunday at a Marian Shrine, the Shrine of Our Lady of Tears in Syracuse. Following the links under "History" from the home page will lead you to pages telling the events of the lachrymation, events which have received the approval of the meeting of the Bishops of Sicily:

The Sicilian Episcopate, presided by Ernesto Card. Ruffini on December 12, 1953 declared the Lachrymation of Mary in Syracuse authentic: “The reality of the lachrymation cannot be put into doubt.”

“The Bishops of Sicily, reunited for the customary Conference in Bagheria (Palermo), after hearing the full report of His Excellency Ettore Baranzini, Archbishop of Syracuse, about the “lachrymation” of the image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, repeatedly happening in the days of 29, 30, 31 August and 1 September of this year, in Syracuse (11 Via degli Orti St.) and having examined attentively the relative testimonies of the original documents, have unanimously concluded that the reality of the lachrymation cannot be put into doubt.

“They hope that this manifestation of our heavenly Mother stir all to healthy penance and to a more lively devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, encouraging the urgent building of a Shrine to perpetuate the memory of the miracle.”

The architecture of the shrine reminds an English visitor of a certain Cathedral in Liverpool, known as "Paddy's wigwam", but I do think the comparison is unfair (to the shrine in Syracuse, that is). Do follow the links from this page of the shrine website to get a full idea of what the shrine is like. The vertical glass windows between each concrete upright produces a very effective lighting of the space of the upper shrine, there being no artificial lighting of the main area of the congregation during the day time.

The shrine is visited by pilgrimage groups - one parish group from Messina was there for the Mass we attended. We were treated to an instructive homily during Mass - Pentecost as the giving of the new law of love in our hearts (the Jewish feast with which it coincides is that marking the gift of the tablets of the law to Moses); the tongues in which all people could understand the preaching of the apostles being that of a divine language of love (contrasted to the division of tongues represented by the tower of Babel); the flames and wind representing a new presence of God (cf the burning bush of the Old Testament); the sending out of the Church on a mission of evangelisation (compared to the Jewish people making their journey out from Egypt towards the promised land); this Holy Spirit is also received by us in Baptism and Confirmation so we are called to live out today all of these implications of Pentecost; this we do in the company of Mary, and following her example, that points always to her Son, and, in Him, to the Father and the Spirit.

PS: Compared to most other Churches in Sicily, this one has a very big architectural advantage, even if one is inclined to dislike concrete as a building material. That advantage is its complete lack of baroque style ....