Years and years of work and patient waiting have elapsed, and it has now been a few days since the "San Benedetto Abate" parish of the Salesians of Ferrara has returned to its former glory. The celebration began in the early afternoon with the reception in the oratory; then, at the arrival of the city bishop, Msgr. Giancarlo Perego, they entered the church that is finally ready, and the Eucharist was celebrated. Finally, the day of celebration was completed with a moment of fraternal agape in the oratory.
“After almost seven years we are finally back home. Because this is what we are talking about: a House where we can meet, and meet Him, as a community,” commented Elena Mastellari, Ferrara's animator and member of the National Council of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM), satisfied.
The Salesian oratory of Ferrara has endeavored to continue functioning as it always has these past seven years and, not without difficulty, has managed to cope with the damage caused by the earthquake. So those spaces that remained available were used for different purposes. The young woman adds, “It wasn't easy to get used to the idea of having to go to Mass in the same place where you'd return in the afternoon with a bag of popcorn in your hands to watch a movie,” she said, referring to the house's theater.
Now the work has paid off: “It was incredible to see the wide open eyes of those children who entered the church for the first time on Saturday night,” continues Elena.
In these seven years the parish and Oratorian community has not only maintained itself, but in a certain sense it has been strengthened precisely to face difficulties. “At every call from our priests there was always someone, young and adult, ready to answer 'I am here',” the Salesian animator concludes.
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