CLINTON TOWNSHIP ─ On Sunday, Oct. 5, Italian parishioners and clergy at San Francesco Parish in Clinton Township celebrated Mass in commemoration of two prominent Italians, St. Francis of Assisi and Christopher Columbus.
The Macomb County parish, which is home to many Italians who emigrated to the United States, as well as those of Italian descent, celebrated the special day in collaboration with local VIPs and members of the Christopher Columbus Day committee.
The Mass was followed by a procession around the church grounds with a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, and a blessing with the famous relic of his cordon. All enjoyed refreshments in the social hall after the event.
"What we Italians set out to celebrate, on the first Sunday in October, is the incredible courage of St. Francis and of Christopher Columbus," said Fr. Dino Vanin, PIME, the priest serving the San Francesco community. "Both men led by example and dared to risk everything to follow an ideal which could have literally scuttled their lives.
"St. Francis gave up the solid security of a future buttressed by wealth, merriment, and glamour to embrace abysmal poverty by trusting in Divine Providence for his daily sustenance," Fr. Vanin continued. "Christopher Columbus had a hard time convincing the powerful to provide him with the funds and the means to prove a point that bordered on folly. Both could go ahead with their plan only because of their unwavering faith in God."
St. Francis of Assisi's feast day is Oct. 4, while Columbus Day is observed Oct. 13.
(Photos and information courtesy of San Francesco Parish)
