The Rector Major's visit is also part of what is the traditional Feast of Our Lady of the Sea, a religious and cultural event of great importance and ancient origins, and which is organised by the Salesian work in Bova Marina; the feast will be a special occasion to celebrate Mary through religious ceremonies, processions and moments of community gathering.
The celebrations for Our Lady of the Sea had their prologue already last Saturday, 27 July, with "Mass at dawn" at Rocca del Capo, at 05:30 (UTC+2), followed by an evening Mass at 7:00 pm in the Oratory. The next day, Sunday 28 July, the painting of Our Lady that gave rise to the feast was exhibited, followed by Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Throughout the week, Masses are scheduled in different locations in the area and on Thursday, 1 August, it will be dedicated to the memory of the deceased, with the Rosary, Mass at the cemetery and a Marian Vigil on the beach in the evening.
Friday, 2 August will be the day of the arrival of the Rector Major: after landing in Reggio Calabria at 2:30 pm, the programme includes a festive reception in the oratory, a meeting with the Municipal Administration of Bova Marina and then participation in the evening of joy and community called "Festa Insieme".
On Saturday, 3 August the 10th Successor of Don Bosco will visit the historic places of Bova in memory of the Salesian Servant of God Bishop Giuseppe Cognata; later, he will preside over the Mass at Rocca and a devotional procession, also accompanied by the Archbishop of Reggio Calabria, Archbishop Morrone.
On Sunday 4 August, the closing day of the feast, the Rector Major will preside over the Eucharist in the Don Bosco Church, followed by the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the celebrations. The morning will be completed with the evocative procession at sea of the painting of Our Lady. In the early afternoon the Rector Major will leave for Rome, but the week of faith and celebration animated by the Salesians will reach its climax in the evening with Mass in the Town Hall Square and the consecration of the town to Our Lady.
Bova Marina is the fifth Salesian institute, in order of time, to have been founded at the end of the 19th century with the "Progetto Sud Italia", following the numerous solicitations and invitations that Don Bosco received from the southern population. It was on 20 October 1898 when his first successor at the head of the Salesian Congregation, Fr Michael Rua, accepted the invitation of Bishop Rossi to establish a stable Salesian presence in Calabria to manage a diocesan seminary, intended for the renewal of the clergy in the town. Bova was a scenically enchanting place, but economically and socially fragile and geographically marginal. The first community that arrived, in the autumn of that year, involved a priest as Rector, Fr Motta, and three clerics.
At that time there was neither a parish nor an oratory, but the Salesians invited the inhabitants to attend the theatre and this was the first way they used to make themselves known. In 1911 the first oratory was started in Sant'Emilio but, after the earthquakes, the people of Bova raised funds to build a new work. And so between 1949 and 1950 the new institute, the current Salesian oratory, was built.
Today, the Salesian institute in Bova Marina still represents an important educational centre for the Calabrian territory, through the apostolic activities of the Don Bosco church and those of the oratory, with sports fields, video libraries, libraries, meeting rooms, multimedia, theatre and a wide range of proposals in an area lacking in opportunities for the human and Christian growth of the young generations.
