Rising together with the strength of unity . The meaning given this year by the Municipality of Sassari to the next edition of the Faradda finds clear meaning in the dance of the Candeliere di San Sebastiano in Bancali . This morning, the inmates' candle renewed the twenty-year tradition of making a vow to the Madonna within the prison walls, in the presence of the highest civil, military, and religious authorities of the area.
" The message of inclusion and righting our mistakes resonates most strongly here ," Mayor Giuseppe Mascia stated at the beginning of the ceremony. "The children ," commented Anna Cherchi, the city's ombudsman for prisoners, "have demonstrated their commitment to the Vote , working in synergy with the educators and the treatment area to ensure everything is perfect, hoping to bring out the emotions they are experiencing."
The bearers of the Candeliere were all Sassari residents, although the effort was collective and also involved foreign inmates. "I told the boys," said prison chaplain Don Gaetano Galia, "that this Vow must be one of hope because they must always have in their hearts the desire to rethink their lives." "I would like," said the new director of the facility, Maria Teresa Errico, "for the event to not only focus on these days but also to be organized for its realization at the end of this year."
Errico then wanted to remember Patrizia Incollu, former director of Bancali, who died in a car accident in 2023. 16 people made the candelabra dance, simulating the journey from Piazza Castello to Santa Maria until the prayer and, indeed, the fulfillment of the Vow officiated by Father Guardian Salvatore Sanna and followed by the blessing of the diocesan administrator, Monsignor Antonio Tamponi.
Also present was Domenico Arena, the regional administrator of Sardinia's prison administration: "The winning path is inclusion, for both inmates and their families, and for the outside world."
The most moving part came from the pallbearers' written words, read at the end, with their good wishes, hopes, and farewells to those who are no longer with us, and that one hope that came true: "To make at least one Faradda in my life."