Ceremony Celebrates San Vigilio Across Lake Garda Dioceses
If the weather is kind, next April 25th the body of water in front of Punta San Vigilio will host a ceremony worthy of a contemporary Canaletto brushstroke. Not a lavish marriage with the sea, but a poignant liturgy celebrated by three bishops representing as many dioceses. Not a procession of gondolas, bateaux, and caracche, but a gathering of motorboats, sailboats, and canoes escorting three Navigarda boats.
The ceremony between dioceses and traditions
The unprecedented event involving the dioceses of Trento, Brescia, and Verona aims to solemnize, with a striking choreography, the 1600th anniversary of the death of San Vigilio, the Trentino bishop who played a significant role in the Christianization of the Alpine regions around Lake Garda, and whose tri-provincial cult was already attested by Dante himself. Vigilio, a Trentino bishop martyred by pagans in Val Rendena and Val di Non, was a contemporary and friend of Saint Ambrose, as well as of the Bishop of Brescia, San Gaudenzio.
Celebrated on June 26 in the Brescia calendar, Vigilio is also venerated specially in our diocese: the parishes of Cevo, Lodrino, Monterotondo di Passirano, and – of course – San Vigilio di Concesio are dedicated to him. For this reason, the diocese of Trento and the Autonomous Province of Trento have decided to organize this singular celebration, which the Brescia diocese has embraced wholeheartedly, including through the efforts of the new head of the Office for Tourism and Pilgrimages, don Claudio Zanardini.
The itinerary and activities of the day
The program agreed upon by the three dioceses foresees, in the early morning, the departure of three boats, likely accompanied by spontaneous flotillas. The Trentino naval procession will depart from Riva di Trento, with the Navigarda boat at the center, hosting 400-500 faithful guided by Bishop Monsignor Luigi Bressan. The Brescia delegation will set out early from the port of Salò: Bishop of Brescia, Monsignor Giulio Sanguineti, along with a group of 180 faithful, will be aboard a hydrofoil.
Finally, the Verona flotilla, led by Monsignor Flavio Carraro, will depart from Desenzano del Garda, again relying on Navigarda. The gathering, as mentioned, is scheduled around 10-10:30 a.m. in front of Punta San Vigilio, where a water liturgy will take place, focused on baptismal promises. Something not too different from the scenic ceremonies on the Sea of Tiberias familiar to pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.
The celebration and remembrance of San Vigilio
The most solemn liturgical moment is scheduled at 12 p.m. in the church of Garda, where the three bishops will concelebrate a mass memoria of San Vigilio and his historical role in the life of the church in the Lombard-Venetian area. An occasion for relaxation but also spiritual elevation and dramatization of the figure and work of San Vigilio is also planned, in Garda, on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 25th, through a show from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: featuring the “Grande coro Insieme” directed by don Mario Neva, parish priest of La Noce in the city.
Following this, the boats will return to their respective ports, concluding a day that – guided by devotion and religious tradition – will once again confirm Lake Garda as an element of unity and a mirror of connection among three provinces, three regions, and three dioceses.
