Photo of the Week: Statue of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Habsburg

Statue of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Habsburg sculpted by Vincenzo Gemito in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Photo of the Week: Statue of Alfonso the Magnanimous

Statue of Alfonso the Magnanimous, King of Naples and Sicily sculpted by Achille D’Orsi in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Congratulations Msgr. Donald Sakano on Your Investiture into the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

On Sunday, June 23rd, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Reverend Monsignor Donald Sakano celebrated his last Mass as Pastor of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral and the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood in New York City. Serving nearly twelve years as pastor and approaching 75 years of age, Monsignor will be retiring as is required by the policy of the Archdiocese of New York. However, he begins the new phase of his ministry as a Knight in the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George.

Following Mass at the packed Basilica, Monsignor was proclaimed Ecclesiastical Knight of Grace by virtue of the mandate received from His Royal Highness the Grand Master, Prince Carlo di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, Duke of Castro. Representing our Delegate HE Cav. John M. Viola, the rite was executed in the sanctuary by Cav. Charles Sant’Elia. Cavalieri John Napoli and Vincent Gangone were in attendance. IHSV

Originally posted in The Constantinian Chronicle

Happy Birthday Princess Maria Carolina!

HRH was born in Rome, Italy on June 23, 2003

Photo courtesy of Real Casa di Borbone

Happy Birthday Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Duchess of Calabria and Palermo! May God's love and affection be with you always! Auguri Altezza Reale!

The Feast of Corpus Christi

Celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, the Feast of Corpus Christi, or Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, honors the real presence of the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. To commemorate the occasion I’m posting the Anima Christi, a Medieval prayer of unknown origin. The accompanying photo of a traditional Eucharistic Procession was taken after the Tridentine Mass at Our Lady of Peace Church in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

Anima Christi 

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from you.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to you
That with your saints I may praise you
For ever and ever. Amen.

Photo of the Week: Statue of Ruggiero il Normanno

Statue of Roger the Norman sculpted by Emilio Franceschi in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. 
Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Happy Birthday Princess Beatrice di Borbone!

HRH was born in Saint-Raphaël, France on June 16, 1950

Photo courtesy of Real Casa di Borbone

Il Regno would like to extend our warmest birthday wishes to Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice di Borbone delle Due Sicilie, Dame Grand Cross of Justice and Grand Prefect of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George. May God continue to shower you with all the blessings you truly deserve. Auguri Altezza Reale!

Viva Sant'Antonio! A Look at the 2019 Feast of St. Anthony of Padua in SoHo, New York

Thursday evening the Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua (154 Sullivan St.)
celebrated its Titular Feast with a solemn Mass and procession 

Members of the St. Rocco Society of Potenza in NYC show their support

The beautiful high altar with statue of St. Anthony
receiving the apparition of the Infant Jesus  

After Mass, devotees had the opportunity to venerate the relics of Sant'Antonio 

Religious items and blessed bread were available in the church basement 

Donations were pinned to the statue

The Red Mike Festival Band 

The procession wends its way through the neighborhood

 The procession returns to the church with much fanfare 

Salvatore and Konstantinos help carry 
Steve's giant votive candle back to the church 

Afterward, we visited Song' e Napule Pizzeria for our celebratory meal

As always, I enjoyed a delicious plate of Paccheri alla Genovese 

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

Photo of the Week: Statue of Frederick II, Facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli

Statue of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen sculpted by Emanuele Caggiano in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of St. Norbert of Xanten

Thank you to this month's volunteers.

Thursday, June 6th, members of the Constantinian Auxiliary prepared and distributed food to the homeless in Chinatown and Two Bridges, New York on the Feast of St. Norbert of Xanten. Meeting at the Church of the Transfiguration (29 Mott St.), volunteers prepared 30 care packages replete with toiletries and ready to eat food, including containers of freshly cooked penne marinara generously donated by our dear friends at Caffé Napoli (191 Hestor Street) in Little Italy.

Once again, we want to thank Antonio, Anna and Konstantinos Mavrianos-Cesare of the St. Rocco Society for their hard work and dedication. You are an inspiration to us all. Thank you Louis Fontana of Caffé Napoli; Raymond Guarini of the Italian Enclaves Historical Society; Dama Rosanna Minervini; and Cav. John Napoli for your continued assistance. Your heartfelt generosity and selflessness is greatly appreciated. And as always, special thanks to Pastor Lo for your support and blessings. It is an honor to serve with such an outstanding group of people. God Bless you all. IHSV

The next walk will be on Thursday, September 5th—the Feast of St. Lawrence Justinian—at 7:00 PM. Anyone interested in supporting this charitable endeavor can contact Cav. John Napoli at jnapoli@smocsg.org or Anna Mavrianos-Cesare at MsAnnaNY@aol.com.

Fr. Lo led us in prayer and blessed the food

Andrew led our group in praying the Rosary

Our friends at Caffé Napoli donated a tray of penne marinara with chicken

Andrew, Anna and Tony divvy up the pasta

Rosanna helps pack the bags

Originally posted in The Constantinian Chronicle

New Book — Sicilian Wisdom: Proverbs, Poems, and History in the Sicilian Language

New title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon

• Sicilian Wisdom: Proverbs, Poems, and History in the Sicilian Language by Filippo Salamone

Publisher: Independently published
Publication Date: March 1, 2019
Paperback: $12.99
Language: English
Pages: 76

Read description

Click here to see more books

Listing does not imply any endorsement

Photo of the Week: Statue of Charles I of Anjou, Facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli

Statue of Charles I of Anjou, King of Sicily sculpted by Tommaso Solari in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. 
Photo by New York Scugnizzo

A Beautiful Ending to May

Commemorating the Battle of Bitonto in NYC

This year's revelers outside Song' e Napule
Photos by New York Scugnizzo

On Thursday, May 30th, a small, but festive, group of neobriganti broke bread at Song’ e Napule restaurant (146 W HoustonSt.) in Manhattan for the Feast of the Ascension and 11th Annual Battle of Bitonto Commemoration. 

A celebration of Duosiciliano faith, history and culture, our jovial party escaped the rain and packed into the cozy eatery for some much-needed fellowship and delicious Neapolitan fare.

Calamari alla griglia

As always, the proximity to Memorial Day Weekend kept our numbers down, but whatever we may have lacked in quantity was more than made up for in quality and enthusiasm. 

After grace, we made a series of toasts in memory of our ancestors, the men (on both sides) who fought and died at the battle, and HRM King Carlo di Borbone, whose victory over the Austrians on May 25, 1734 redeemed the Kingdom of Naples.

Polpo alla griglia

For starters, partygoers ate their fill of panzarotti, calamari alla griglia, burrata e prosciutto, and polpo alla griglia. After a few bottles of Falanghina del Sannio and Montepulciano we were singing and swaying along with Chef Ciro’s crack wait staff. 

For our entrée we ordered a variety of different pizzas, including the spicy Diavola and Marinara Starita, a culinary masterpiece made with Sicilian confit grape tomatoes and alici di Cetara. All the pies were delicious, but I still love the classic Pizza Margherita the best. 

Marinara Starita

Naturally, we capped off our sumptuous repast with some caffé and a few more songs. After our long goodbyes, we closed the joint down and parted ways. Viva 'o Rre!

* * *

Celebrating the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

Madonna and Child bye-altar

Regali ex progenie Maria exorta refulget; cuius precibus nos adiuvari, mente et spiritu devotissime poscimus. Alleluia.*

On Friday, May 31st, the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated at Holy Name of Jesus Church (245 Prospect Park West) in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. Some 40 members of the Traditional Latin Mass community of Brooklyn, including members of the Knights of Malta and The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George, we’re in attendance.

Mass was sung by Celebrant and Homilist Rev. John A. Perricone, who was dutifully assisted by servers Paul Pleho, Stephen Pack, Jorge A. Fernandez Vidaro, and William Yap. The motets and Mass setting were composed by choir director David Adam Smith. They were gloriously chanted by Catherine Hedberg, Eric Brenner, Ryland Angel, Art Bryan Manabat, Bruce Rameker, and Peter Walker.

Thank you Rev. Lawrence D. Ryan, Pastor and members of the Holy Name congregation for your continued warmth and hospitality. Special thanks to Cindy Brolsma and organizers for your hard work and dedication. Once again, it was a great joy to celebrate our faith together. 

The next Latin Mass at Holy Name of Jesus Church will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 2nd at 7:00PM for the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mass programs

* Sprung from a royal line, all radiant is Mary, by whose prayers we most devoutly beg to be helped both in mind and in spirit. Alleluia. ~ Offertory Antiphon