Gentiloni, in the Basilica of S. Benedetto there is a piece of Europe

(ANSA) – PERUGIA, 31 OCTOBER – “In the Basilica of San Benedetto there is a piece of Europe because San Benedetto is the patron saint of the European Union and there is a piece of Europe also because the earthquake of eight years ago and the consequences of the earthquake for Norcia and for San Benedetto were a European fact”: this was said by EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni at the end of the visit to the Basilica rebuilt after the damage caused by the 2016 earthquake. Gentiloni recalled how “six-seven years ago the European Commission of the time, led by Jean-Claude Juncker, wanted to make a contribution to the reconstruction”. The European Commissioner also recalled the moments following the earthquake, when he was Foreign Minister and then Prime Minister. “Today – added Gentiloni – we must first of all thank the citizens of Norcia, the religious institutions, the companies that worked on the Basilica, the superintendents, the government commissioners who worked to make the works work”. “The construction site is well underway, it is a complex construction site because it is a question of restoring, starting from the rubble, the authenticity of San Benedetto, not of building a new church and therefore it must be done with great delicacy and with great professionalism and I think this is happened,” he said again. Speaking of the 60 years since the proclamation of Saint Benedict as the patron saint of Europe, Gentiloni underlined that the Benedictine rule “is applied with many messages, which are messages of the importance of work, of the importance of sobriety towards the environment that surrounds us, of the importance of peace”. “Paul VI wanted to indicate Saint Benedict as a herald of peace 60 years ago and the fact that he is the patron saint of the European Union, I believe, is very important in these times”, concluded Gentiloni. (HANDLE).