At the invitation of the Casamari Abbey, members of the Tuscia and Sabina Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George led by the Delegate, Nob. Roberto Saccarello, Knight Grand Cross of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star, participated in the solemn celebrations held on Tuesday 20 August 2024 on the occasion of the anniversary of the dies natalis of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church. As stated by the founder of the Clairvaux monastery, monastic life must be marked by work, contemplation and prayer, having two fixed stars: Jesus and Mary. For the Cistercian abbot, Christ is everything and Mary leads to Jesus. Saint Bernard indicates the path of humility to reach the love of God. He exhorts us to love the Lord without measure.
The solemn Holy Mass celebrated at 11:00 in the abbey church of Casamari was presided over by the Bishop Emeritus of Viterbo, the Most Reverend Lino Fumagalli, Chaplain Grand Cross of Merit of the Constantinian Order. The concelebrants were the Abbot, Dom Loreto Maria Camilli, S.O. Cist.; the Postulator General for the Causes of the Saints of the Cistercian Order-Casamari, Liaison for the Abbey of Casamari with the Delegation of Tuscia and Sabina, Prof. Father Domenico Volpi, S.O. Cist., Chaplain of Merit with Star; and monks and priests of the Dioceses of Frosinone-Veroli and Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo-Subiaco.
In his homily, after dwelling on the most salient episodes of the life of the holy founder of the monastery of Clairvaux, Bishop Fumagalli exhorted the monks to remain faithful to the rule of Saint Benedict, committing themselves to the maintenance of the church and the abbey complex, and to works of piety and charity, exercised for many centuries through troubled historical events.
At the end of the Mass, the Constantinian knights and ladies spoke with the Abbot, who expressed to the Delegate his deep satisfaction with their charitable and cultural initiatives. The Abbot also recalled the close traditional ties between the Abbey of Casamari and the Constantinian Delegation of Tuscia and Sabina, spiritually guided by Father Volpi. On this occasion, the Delegate gave the Abbot an offering for the Cistercian missions in Eritrea.
The link between the Constantinian Order and the Abbey of Casamari
A community of twenty-two Cistercian monks currently lives in the Abbey of Casamari. The dependent monasteries are the Certosa di Pavia, the Abbey of Valvisciolo, the monastery of San Domenico in Sora, the monastery of Santa Maria di Cotrino in Latiano (Brindisi) and the monastery of Santa Maria della Consolazione in Martano (Lecce). In the Congregation there are three conventual monasteries: the Abbey of Nostra Signora dell’Assunta in Asmara (Eritrea) with 2 dependent monasteries; the monastery of Santa Maria di Piona (Lecco) with a dependent monastery (Chiaravalle della Colomba – Piacenza); and the monastery of Nostra Signora di Claraval in Brazil.
In 2012, a Constantinian Representation was created within the Delegation of Tuscia and Sabina at the Abbey of Casamari, due to the interest of that profound expert of the history and institutions of the Constantinian Order, Father Pierdomenico Volpi, S.O.Cist., Constantinian Chaplain of Merit, General Postulator for the Causes of the Saints of the Cistercian Order-Casamari.
Also taking into account the historical ties between the Abbey of Casamari and the Monastery of the Visitation, called the Duchess, in Viterbo (also belonging to the Cistercian Order), the Delegate Nob. Roberto Saccarello, Knight Grand Cross of Jure Sanguinis with Gold Star, with the consent of the Constantinian Order’s President of the Royal Commission for Italy, the late Duke Diego de Vargas Machuca, has in recent years appointed 35 Knights and Dames, very active in the religious, charitable and cultural fields.
It is interesting to note that the Cistercian Fathers celebrate two solemn Holy Masses every year in memory of Their Majesties King Ferdinand II and Francis II, Sovereigns of the Two Sicilies and Grand Masters of the Constantinian Order.
