FaithWorld

(A helicopter approaches the Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the west coast of Italy at Giglio island at dusk January 19, 2012. REUTERS/ Paul Hanna )

In front of the altar in the church of Santi Lorenzo e Mamiliano is a small table covered with relics — a lifejacket, a half-eaten panettone cake, a hard hat.

They are not sacred objects or remains of a long-ago saint, but profane reminders of recent acts of selfless charity and good will, said Don Lorenzo Pasquotti, the island’s parish priest – a gregarious man, bearded, bespectacled and wearing a brown wool cap.

On Friday night he opened the doors of his church, standing less than 100 meters from the port in Giglio, to about 400 survivors of the Costa Concordia who straggled up the steps to the entrance seeking shelter and food.

While clearing up next day, helpers found several objects and Don Lorenzo – as his parishioners call him – decided to fashion a second altar out of them.

“It’s to help us remember, positively, what happened,” he told Reuters. “It’s testimony to a dramatic moment, but also to a great demonstration of solidarity.”

Read the full story by Steve Scherer here.
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