Closing of the Jubilee Year of the Church of Santa Maria del Pozzo (NA – Italy)

On the 15th March, 2026, in the church of Santa Maria del Pozzo in Somma Vesuviana (NA – Italy), where the Polish Friars Minor serve, the Jubilee Year for the 450th anniversary of the consecration of the church ended. The Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, presided over the solemn Mass in which the Provincial Ministers who have been collaborating for 30 years participated: Br. Carlo Amodio (Province of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Naples), Br. Krzysztof Bobak (Province of Our Lady of the Angels in Krakow, Poland), and the General Definitor Br. Konrad Cholewa.

 The Polish Province was also represented by Br. Marek Wach, Provincial Secretary; Br. Zenon Duda, a missionary in Morocco; Br. Paweł Sambor, a professor at the PUA in Rome; and Br. Lukas Kucieba. From the Sacred Heart Province, the Vicar, Br. Giuseppe Sorrentino, Br. Luigi Ortalio, and Br. Antonio Sannino were also present. Also participating were the Dominican Sisters, the Sisters of the Holy Trinity, priests and religious from other parishes in Somma, faithful, Franciscan tertiaries from the local community, the "Friends of St. Francis" association, representatives of the "Battenti della Madonna dell'Arco," and local government officials. 

The programme of celebrations included a penitential procession from the statue of St. Francis, erected in 2000 on the road leading to the Franciscan friary, to the Jubilee Church, and a dedication ceremony, solemn blessing and lighting of the "lamp of peace" by the Minister General and Commissioner Corinne Palumbo, on behalf of the city community. The local jubilee took into account a broader context: the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. The sign of the passing of time was symbolised by eight amphorae of oil for the peace lamp, which will remain lit until the 10th January, 2027. They represent eight centuries of "unextinguished light" (i.e., the spirituality of St. Francis), from the ‘Blessed Transitus’ of the founder of the Order of Friars Minor to the present day. One of the final signs of the jubilee was the presentation of a medal commemorating the Eighth Centenary of Francis's death: Br. Massimo presented it to the Commissioner, expressing the hope that his service to the citizens and the city would be sustained by the Spirit of St. Francis, the Patron Saint of Italy.