Francesco's twins

The special bond that binds the Sacred Convent of Assisi and the Sermig Arsenal of Peace

«It is a cause for satisfaction that the bond between Sermig and the Sacred Convent of Assisi has deepened, and that the common commitment to peace in the name of Christ has been sealed by the exchange of two very emblematic gifts: the Crucifix in the refectory , by the friars, and the tabernacle obtained from an oven in the Arsenal of Turin - now the Arsenal of Peace - by Sermig".
John Paul II thus underlined on 10 December 1997 the importance of the twinning between Sermig and the Sacred Convent of Assisi.
It all began with the terrible earthquake in Assisi at the end of September 1997. There were eight victims, four of whom were in the basilica itself. The desire to make ourselves present in the name of the bond that had bound us for years with the saint of Assisi was immediately strong. The Sacred Convent, in the person of its custodian and friend Father Giulio Berrettoni, proposed to our community a "twinning of intent and brotherhood" in the name of Saint Francis and peace.
The pact was signed on October 27.
Ernesto Olivero, in a suggestive and ideal letter to Saint Francis, wrote: «Your friars gave us the Crucifix which they kept in the refectory of the convent […] The Crucifix, which bears the signs of the earthquake on its side (and for this reason is remembered as the wounded Crucifix, editor's note), will live in our home forever, as a tangible sign of this twinning, pact of love [...]. It will be a constant reminder for us to tell every man that the key to peace is love, harmony, respect for others, justice, a love lived in the presence of God who never tires of loving his children, but he wants his children to love each other with concrete gestures. This Crucifix, before living forever in the Arsenal of Peace, will accompany us on a pilgrimage through the most important cities of Italy as a testimony of peace and as an invitation to conversion, on the threshold of the year 2000".
The pilgrimage departed from Milan in the presence of the card. Martini, stopped in Florence and Rome with the Pope and ended on 29 December in Assisi.
Also in Assisi, on 27 October of the following year there was the delivery of the Flag of Peace to the world ambassadors, and the Arsenal welcomed civil and religious authorities from Assisi and Turin in a great celebration: «The path to take together – he said Father Berrettoni – means transcendence of peace and vitality of prayer, daring peace, giving space to imagination and creativity.
Peace has a path: solidarity and dialogue. Peace has foundations: truth, justice, love and freedom. Peace is a point of arrival and departure. We must never be discouraged."

IN THE PICTURES
1. Giulio Berrettoni and Ernesto Olivero deliver the Twinning document and the Flag of Peace to the Pope.

2. Stage of the pilgrimage of the wounded Crucifix in Florence by card. Silvano Piovanelli. 3. The refectory of the Sacred Convent immediately after the 1997 earthquake.

4. Project no. 9 of 1997 with the chronicle of the pilgrimage.

5. Assisi, 29 December 1997, delivery of the Flag of Peace to the ambassadors.

6. Rome, 10 December 1997, in the Vatican, Pope John Paul II is awarded the "Man of Peace of the Century" award.

7. Father Berrettoni and Ernesto Olivero at the tomb of Saint Francis.

ERNESTO OLIVERO: «We will place the Flag of Peace on the tomb of Francis: looking at it, what does this flag inspire you?»
FATHER GIULIO BERRETTONI: «That Francis continues his mission. There is that ancient but always new wish: "Peace and good": when Saint Francis went through the streets of Italy he did not give long sermons or difficult speeches: he met people, men and women and said so simply: " Brother, sister, may the Lord give you peace." To all the pilgrims, almost 6 million a year, who will come to the tomb, through this expressive sign of a flag, he repeats: "Brother, sister, may the Lord give you peace".