We are in 1621: the Grand Duke Cosimo II de ‘Medici dies prematurely of Tuberculosis. His mother Christina of Lorraine became co-regent of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany together with Cosimo’s wife, Maria Maddalena of Austria. The latter, already deeply linked to the village of San Miniato, acquires the government of the vicariate.
As we have already told you in this article [link] thanks to religious and political moves, the two women manage to have San Miniato Diocese nominated on 5 December 1622, definitively removing it from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Lucca.
The Jubilee year of San Miniato will begin on December 5, 2022 and will end on November 26, 2023, the date of the feast of Christ the King.
A very important event for the city, which this year celebrates the 400th anniversary of its appointment as Diocese and is organizing itself to carry out very important events, the first of all the Jubilee: all the parishes are preparing for this event and there will be numerous initiatives which will expand throughout the diocesan territory.
A banner of the event, that will be displayed in all the parishes, has been realized by the Samminiatese artist Luca Macchi, pupil and great friend of the painter Dilvo Lotti: the official logo of the Jubilee of the diocese represents Christ holding the symbols of the Episcopal authority, of the Eucharist and in the center is represented the facade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and San Genesio.
Many pilgrimages are planned to many sacred places such as the Holy Land, Rome and Lourdes (obviously in conjunction with the anti Covid laws foreseen for these periods) and in August, precisely on the 25th, a solemn mass will be held in the ancient medieval village of San Genesio to celebrate the patron saint of the diocese, the martyr Genesio, protector of artists and actors. There will be Lectio Bibliche, cycles of spiritual exercises through social channels, the new songbook will be presented, there will be the editing of the volume on the history of the birth of the diocese edited by Graziano Concioni and the restoration of the canvas dedicated to Mary Magdalene of Austria which is located inside the Bishop’s Palace.
But what exactly is a Jubilee?
In the Catholic Church it is the year of reconciliation, conversion, penance and the forgiveness of sins. In this period the Pope grants indulgences to the faithful who go to Rome and carry out particular religious practices including confession, communion and carrying out works of piety, penance or mercy.
