“In the previous days we prepared ourselves, as a parish together with all the faithful, through the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus after the evening Mass at 6 pm, followed also by a brief moment of Eucharistic adoration and the exhibition of a small statue of the Sacred Heart” testifies Fr Javier Ortiz, assistant parish priest.

On the specific days of the Triduum, a specific journey also took place for those who wished to consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart, thus taking on the commitment to the devotional practice of the first nine Fridays of the month – attendance at the Eucharist, approach to the sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharistic adoration in reparation for offences against the Sacred Heart. In total, there were about thirty people who accepted this proposal this year,  people of all kinds: carabinieri, men and women religious, priests, lay people.

The rich preparatory journey for the feast day also included high-level artistic and cultural moments, with organ concerts offered free of charge by two young maestros: Maestro Emanuele Lo Bianco and Maestro Nicola Palombi, on 10 and 15 June respectively.

The main Mass on the feast day was the evening Mass at 6 p.m., celebrated by the titular Cardinal of the Basilica, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education, and concelebrated by a dozen priests, not only Salesians. “Civil and military authorities, different groups of men and women religious from our parish and also from elsewhere, parish faith groups, the choir, which animated the Mass very well, and those making their consecration also took part in the celebration. It was a great feast day!” adds Fr Ortiz.

In a church packed with the faithful, "a crowd we have not seen in years", the Eucharist began with a short but significant procession of the statue of the Sacred Heart inside the church, "which reminded us of the crowded processions that used to take place before the pandemic," the Salesian comments.

In his homily, Cardinal Versaldi recalled that "the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not just a theological concept, but properly a human heart. Jesus took from his mother, Our Lady, a human heart, capable of feeling compassion, mercy and love".

Continuing his reflection, the cardinal explained that Jesus' heart was capable of feeling everything that a human heart feels, including anger - as witnessed by Jesus' reaction to the sight of the Temple of Jerusalem transformed into a marketplace. This is why the Cardinal, titular of the Basilica concluded by observing that the Sacred Heart of Jesus can fully understand and comprehend every man and woman, "being a true human heart, as He is true man and true God".

The Mass ended with the promise that next year, with the renovation work at the Salesian Headquarters presumably long completed, it will be possible to return to celebrate the Sacred Heart with the procession through the streets of the neighbourhood and the following community agape.

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