"May your spirit come and breathe upon the streets of Scampia, where in these hours the displaced are walking between fear and hope," prayed the Metropolitan Archbishop of Naples, Domenico Battaglia, during the funerals of Roberto Abbruzzo, Margherita Della Ragione, and Patrizia Della Ragione, victims of the collapse of the Vela Celeste.
In his homily, the archbishop expressed his message of comfort and hope: "May your spirit come and breathe upon the sails of our city, not upon those of iron and concrete deteriorated by time and neglect, but upon the living ones, those made of flesh, those that today more than ever must be unfurled. Those that tell of a past of pain and struggle, and whose fabric reveals the color of resilience, of the strength of those who never give up, of the tenacity of those who still hope for tomorrow, of the evangelical faith of those who find beauty even in their scars."
The archbishop also appealed to government leaders: "May your spirit come and breathe upon those charged with governing and administering the common good, so that through policies of recovery and inclusion, they may respond with concrete and immediate action to lives marked by suffering. Because politics is authentic if it embraces the ethic of care, and only care can transform pain into hope, the distrust of individuals into a new communal impetus."
Hundreds of white and blue balloons were released into the sky, accompanied by the emotional applause of the crowd, marking the conclusion of the funeral ceremony. The emotion was palpable among those present, with moments of heartbreaking pain expressed by the relatives of the victims who screamed and hit the coffins in a last, desperate farewell.
Among the authorities present, the undersecretary for Relations with Parliament Pina Castiello, the deputies of Avs Francesco Borrelli and of the Pd Valeria Valente. The singer Franco Ricciardi, originally from the neighborhood, was also present, mixed in with the crowd. During the rite, four people fainted from the emotion, including an elderly woman who underwent an electrocardiogram.
