EMANUELE CATONE
17 July 2020
Don Antonio Volpe (Buccino 1 December 1928 – 17 July 2020) he has been a churchman and a point of reference for the Catholic community of Buccino for several decades, starting from that 31 July of 1955 When, the garments of the monk Celestino stopped, celebrated his first priestly mass in our Mother Church (Photo 1).
But I want to briefly mention another aspect here, important for anyone like me who deals with the history of Buccino: his commitment to the study and historical research concerning our community.
He has dealt with the Buccinese churches and convents and, mostly, of historical devotion to our patroness Maria SS. Immaculate. But he also addressed issues further away from his role, such as brigandage.
He then made the sixteenth-century inventory of the assets of the Mother Church available to us all with great work, precious source for history, still too little explored, of the medieval and modern Buccino. As I revealed to him the last time I met him, having his appreciation, I'm preparing a "scientific" edition, which deserves an important source like that. I thought he could have read it, instead it will not be possible. When she will be ready, I will dedicate it to his memory in exchange for the affection and esteem he has always had for me and for which I thank him again.
His historical works, by his own admission, they were often imperfect since he was not a professional scholar and historian, but always full of that true passion, of the commitment and self-sacrifice that accompanied him in the elaboration of his works.
Often his historical investigations originated from second-hand controversies: we remember the multi-year one that contrasted it on various subjects with dear Don Giovanni Salimbene, which, however, has had the merit of producing on both sides insights that are still indispensable today, given the backlog of research on many aspects of our local history.
Me and anyone who will deal with Buccinese history will always be grateful for this reason, as well as for all others related to his spiritual role.
Thanks for everything and good trip Don Antonio…
