Chicago Faithful Celebrate Blessing of the Waters with St. Nick's Manna

Association of Pugliesi in America

St. Nicholas on Lake Michigan
June 3, 2000

Chicago Faithful Celebrate Blessing of the Waters
with St. Nick's Manna

St. Nicholas, more widely known as St. Nick or Santa Claus, has a wide following in both the Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church. St. Nicholas is indeed the patron Saint of Russia, Moscow, Greece, Bari, and Puglia, with thousands of churches in his name throughout the world. The most famous include the Basilica in Bari, where the Saints' relics are enshrined, a cathedral in Constantinople (present Istanbul), and another in Kiev, all dating back to the 11th and 12th century. St Nicholas is also known as the protector from natural disasters, the protector of children wherefrom the Santa Claus tradition originated, and the protector of seafarers which brings us to the blessing of the waters.

Little is known about St. Nicholas. Born of wealthy parents in Patara, Asia Minor (present Turkey), during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian, he was raised in a monastic life and spent most of his life performing charitable work and spreading the faith. Persecuted and imprisoned for his faith, he was later elevated to archbishop of Myra, Asia Minor. He died of natural causes at a venerable age on December 6, 343. He was very popular and admired, even in life among his contemporaries. The legends and myths multiplied after his death and he became a very popular saint in the following centuries.

In the tumultuous period just before the crusades (10th and 11th centuries) it became commonplace for Italian maritime city-states to recover valuable artifacts from the eastern Mediterranean coasts that were coming under the control of the Muslim and the new Islamic religion. The remains of widely revered saints became prized targets. Seamen from Venice, for example, transported by sea the remains of St. Mark the Apostle from his tomb in Alexandria, Egypt, back to their home in Venice in the 10th century, whence St. Mark became the patron of Venice. In a similar daring expedition, as the story goes, seamen from the Italian city of Bari recovered in 1087 the remains of St. Nicholas, bringing them back to their town for veneration. A basilica was built to house the remains of the Saint that has since been referred to as St. Nicholas of Bari.

The "manna of St. Nicholas" is a sacred oil, a transparent liquid that collects in the crypt of the Saint in the Basilica in Bari. It is considered a sacred relic with thaumaturgical properties to lessen diseases and keep away dangers. The story is that the urn of St. Nicholas in Myra was full of manna at the time of the recovery. According to legend, the manna that oozes from the bones of the Saint performs miracles. The phenomenon of manna collecting in the crypt continued in Bari and became an attraction among the believers, many from eastern Europe. Manna is collected yearly and distributed worldwide among the faithful. Mixed with water, manna is used internally or externally to invoke the protection of the Saint. A ritual that re-evokes the coming of the Saint by sea as well as celebrating the blessing of sea waters, sailors, and sea-bounty is held every year in Bari on May 7, and manna is poured in the sea to invoke protection and blessing from the Saint.

Members of ARPA, 100 strong, enacted for the first time in Chicagoland the ritual from their ancestral town of blessing the waters of Lake Michigan and Chicago River with St. Nicholas' manna. On Saturday, June 3, 2000, with a life-size statue of the Saint on the bow, St. Nicholas' faithful put out to Lake Michigan on a Wendella cruise boat among the curiosity of many sightseers and boaters in a sunny and most beautiful weather. With a representative from Bari, Dott. Domenico Bellomo, that had brought a vial of the precious and sacred manna, Rev. Michael Davitti, and Father Williams of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the group sailed on Lake Michigan, offshore from the Navy Pier complex, with tourists from shore an other boaters looking on. A small amount of manna was mixed with water and poured into the lake in a solemn blessing. The boat then passed through he Chicago River locks and sailed on the river to complete the blessing ceremony.

The ceremony attracted a bit of media attention. The most important note is the contribution that this cruise of St. Nicholas on the lake and river is making to the revival of the lakefront and river banks in Chicago. A revival championed by Major Richard M. Dailey that is re-discovering the unique beauty of Chicago waterfronts with unmatchable and worldwide-renown architecture in the background. A place where the people of Chicago can come and share their cultures and the blessing of the waters by St. Nicholas.

Pictures from the Event

The collage of pictures below captures various scenes from the event. Two short movies can optionally be downloaded by cliccking on the figure or as directed. One movie is at Figure 16, a chanting in honor of St. Nicholas, and the other is at Figure 23, a keynote by Dott. Domenico Bellomo.

Figure 1.

The party, ARPA's members and special guests, travel by charter bus from suburban Norridge to downtown Chicago, on the river, for the boating.

Figure 2.

ARPA members and others assemble early on to board the buses on a splendid Saturday morning, following a week of rainy weather.

Figure 3.

Joe DeBenedictis, ARPA's President, provides information and special remarks for the occasion, while in transit to the riverfront.

Figure 4.

Party gets off the buses in front of the Wrigley Bldg.

Figure 5.

The party assembles beyond the group standard.

Figure 6.

The youth group, ARPA Giovanile, takes to lead the party.

Figure 7.

Party steps down to the dock on the river bank.

Figure 8.

Statue of St. Nicholas set on the fore of the boat.

Figure 9.

Party boarding the Sunliner boat operated by Wendella.

Figure 10.

The boat, used for tourist cruising on river and lakefront, has a capacity of 100 passengers.

Figure 11.

Boarding completed, boat set out on Chicago River.

Figure 12.

Boat sailing toward the locks to get onto the lake. Chicago splendid skyline in background.

Figure 13.

Cruising on the lake, the aft section of the boat.

Figure 14.

Dott. Domenico Bellomo (sitting in second row), special guest from Bari that brought the vial of sacred oil (manna) from St. Nicholas bones.

Figure 15.

Special guests include Rev. Michael DaVitti (left) and Father Williams (right) of the Ukrainian Catholic Basilica of St. Nicholas in Chicago.

Figure 16.

St. Nicholas on the lake with Chicago skyline in background.
Click here to see short movie. (You will need a Windows media player to view this mpg file which is about 1.2 Mb in size; it may take some time to download, depending on your Internet connection speed.)

Figure 17.

Rev. DaVitti (foreground) holding vial of sacred oil (manna) with Father Williams (background) looking on.

Figure 18.

Rev. DaVitti mixing sacred oil with water in preparation for blessing.

Figure 19.

Blessing of Lake Michigan waters by Rev. DaVitti.

Figure 20.

Pouring of the sacred oil (manna) into lake Michigan.

Figure 21.

Address by Father Williams underlyning the significance of the ceremony and the cult of the Saint in the world.

Figure 22.

Comments by ARPA's President, Joe DeBenedictis.

Figure 23.

Address by Dott. Domenico Bellomo praising the celebration and talking about the cult of the Saint in Bari, Puglia, and the World.
Click to see movie.

Figure 24.

Boat sailing back on Chicago River.

Figure 25.

Boat turning toward the south branch of the Chicago River. In background, one of the 80+ draw bridges that span the Chicago River.

Figure 26.

Boat returning to dock after a cruise on the Chicago River.

Figure 27.

Party getting off the boat at dockside.

Figure 28.

Party regrouping on dock and waiting for statue of St. Nicholas to be moved off the boat.

Figure 29.

Chicago, a melting pot for many people, traditions, and believes from around the world, has both Baresi and eastern Europeans that are devout believers of the Saint. A church by the Ukrainian Catholics is dedicated to St. Nicholas on 2245 West Rice Street in Chicago.

Figure 30.

St. Nicholas' cruise down the Chicago River and on to Lake Michigan and the blessing of the waters was a first in this special year, 2000, the year of the jubilee. Hopefully it will be the beginning of a tradition that, drawing on its ethnic roots, will further enrich and enliven the lakefront life, adding a solemn tone to its many faces.

For further information contact Mr. Joe DeBenedictis at
708.456.4400.

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