"I accept the commitment that the community has entrusted to me." With these words yesterday, at the headquarters of the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Madonna della Difesa, in Stintino , Pietro Denegri assumed the role of prior of the Stintino association .
Denegri, born in 1961, is the 133rd prior and will carry the banner with the effigy of Our Lady of Defense for one year. His appointment came in the early afternoon, after the 148 voters had counted the ballots that had been placed in the glass ballot box on the second floor of the Confraternity's headquarters at Via Sassari 121/b. The new prior received 137 votes (4 invalid votes and 7 names with one vote).
After the religious service and the procession through the town streets, there was much emotion as the banner was exchanged , with the intervention of parish priest Don Daniele Contieri. It was passed from the hands of the outgoing prior Antonio Melis—who joins the association's board of directors—to those of the new prior. Antonio Melis then took the small flag from Giuseppe Denegri, who had previously served as prior.
Accompanying the new prior on this year-long commitment will be his companion, Milena Bonomo, who, as per tradition, at the end of the celebration placed the garnet-colored cape, symbol of the role, around the prior's neck.
Pietro Denegri's first official engagement will be on Sunday, September 21st in Pozzo San Nicola, when, after years, the parish priest Don Daniele Contieri will celebrate mass at 5 pm in the churchyard of the church of San Nicola, despite the church still being closed due to unusable conditions.
"This gesture," says Antonio Diana, president of the association, "witnesses the Confraternity's support for the residents and faithful of the village, considered the gateway to Stintino, and symbolizes the strong bond that unites the entire community."
The prior's next commitment will be the first Sunday in October, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary , which also coincides with the last appearance of the statue of the Virgin during the year. Finally, yesterday, at the age of 88, Giuseppe Benenati, president of the Stintino brotherhood for 24 years, stepped down from the Confraternity's board of directors to allow younger brothers to participate. The celebrations were part of the Salude & Trigu project, the Sassari Chamber of Commerce network that promotes events in Northern Sardinia, with the support of the Fondazione di Sardegna, the municipality of Stintino, and the collaboration of many citizens.
