The anniversary of Our Lady of Loreto was celebrated at the Cathedral of Catania
The celebration was officiated by the Chief of the Inter-Forces Service of Eastern Sicily, 1st Chaplain Chief Don Giovanni Salvia, who in the homily highlighted the spiritual effectiveness of the men and women of the Air Force through a metaphor:“Christ is the Pilot, the Church is the Copilot, and Mary assists us all. Fasten your seatbelts and in the turbulence of life, respond with the law of love so that, at the end of the journey, we reach the goal we have sought for a safe landing in the embrace of the Father who is in heaven. Many greetings to our Air Force of yesterday, today, and tomorrow on the solemn day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Madonna of Loreto”,“ then ended by saying “they take to the air with the roar of our engines, asking for protection for our homeland and for all its children“.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Colonel Missaglia, in thanking those present, emphasized the “A strong bond exists between the Italian Air Force and the Madonna of Loreto, dating back to the early decades of the 20th century, when the Virgin Mary began to be venerated as the protector of aviators. The Marian feast is linked to the tradition according to which the shrine venerated at Loreto represents, according to tradition, the house in which Mary was born in Nazareth, was brought up, and received the angelic announcement. This small biblical shrine, which fell into the hands of the Muslims, was first transferred to Tarsatto in Dalmatia (1291), then to the forest of Recanati and finally to Loreto on the night between December 9 and 10, 1294. Many greetings to our Italian Air Force”, ", concluded Col. Missaglia, “We invoke the intercession of the Madonna of Loreto upon all of us so that she may protect all her children.”. The 41st Squadron is equipped with Breguet 1150 Atlantic aircraft, which ensure the primary mission, consisting of countering the underwater and naval threat and providing long-range search and rescue service at sea. To these activities is added the control of commercial traffic in the Mediterranean, as part of the “post-September 11” operations against international terrorism. The Atlantic aircraft are, in fact, capable of autonomously conducting systematic searches throughout the entire Mediterranean area.
The 41st Air Wing is also responsible for controlling the airspace of the “Control Zone” of Catania, within which, in addition to the military airport of Sigonella, there is the civilian airport of Catania Fontanarossa, which handles over 200 movements per day.
