Sassari: Vow to the Madonna dissolved, the bishop says goodbye to the city

The Vow to the Blessed Virgin of Graces was dissolved this evening in Sassari. In front of the church of San Pietro in Silki, thousands of people recited the prayer that, since 1943, has asked Mary for protection for themselves and the city every year: 83 years ago, the first time imploring the salvation of Sassari from the bombings of the Second World War and so, throughout the last century and up to today, also remembering the other tragedy, that of the pandemic.

The ceremony was also marked by the farewell of Archbishop Gian Franco Saba who, from May 30, will take up the new role of Military Ordinary of Italy in Rome . During the pontifical, in the afternoon in Piazza d'Italia, he retraced the eight years he lived in the city as archbishop, which began precisely under the sign of the Madonna with the greeting at the sanctuary of San Pietro in Silki. "It seems to me the best way to say goodbye, nothing is tied to us," Saba said.

Over 2,000 people were present in the square and then those who followed the procession to the church of San Pietro in Silki . The highest civil and military authorities were present at the ceremony and, among them, the mayor of Sassari Giuseppe Mascia who, on behalf of the first citizens of the territory, praised what Saba has done. "You worked to build and not to divide. Let a choral embrace come from us", the words of the first citizen.

The mayor of the capital of Turritano had the archbishop bless a shroud that will be displayed in Palazzo Ducale as a reminder of the end of conflicts, a sign that also comes on the Third Diocesan Day for Peace, an anniversary desired by Monsignor Saba in 2023.