Benvenuti a Trevi nel Lazio (FR) Italy

The two days of the Santissima Trinità.
Feast of the Holy Trinity at the Sanctuary of Vallepietra.

By Carla Lucia Tropia.


The appointment with the Holy Trinity feast at the Sanctuary of Vallepietra, is repeated every year.
On the 6th of June, reunited in companies and coming from Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise, hundreds of followers reach the Sanctuary heading up with the standards representing the Holy Trinity and the coat of arms of the Commune.
Provided with sleeping bags, these people go through the night to be able to assist the “Cry of the Old Maids”at dawn; an event that has opened the religious celebrations of the Holy Trinity feast, for centuries.
Following this event, is the Holy Mass, celebrated by Monsignor Lorenzo Loppa, bishop of the Diocese.
At 6:30 in the morning, built in the middle of the Sanctuary’s square, everything on the big stage is ready to renovate the emotions with the “Cry of the Old Maids” theatrical play.
Since 1700, this sacred commendation accompanies the Holy Trinity feast by enriching it with evocative feelings.
The scenic representation is staged and interpreted by non professional actors who measure themselves with great ardour in this highly dramatic play, in which they make us intensely re-evocate the Passion of Christ and the message of faith and hope that His sacrifice was meant to signify for mankind.
The Cry is a rising of emotions: from the introduction in Latin, with the verse “Veni Creator”, to the invocation of the Holy Spirit and finally, the dialogue of the fathful Old Maids who invite the pilgrims to conversion.
Christ’s death on the cross is the most culminating moment which marks the redemption of man: here the verses become distressful, like the ones spoken by the Three Marys (Maria mother of Jesus, Marta and Maddalena).
The spectator is overwhelmed by the pain and suffering described in the verses, but also with the strength of redemption and conversion that they transmit.
The Cry is a message for faith and an invitation to hope for all men of today; men who are tempted by individualism and by materialism, and often unaware of the true values of faith and charity, which should be the basis for a better World.