"Vos et ipsam civitatem benedicimus” – “We bless you and your city.”
These are the words that welcome those arriving in Messina by sea, and can also be seen from the air when approaching the nearby airports of Catania or Reggio Calabria. According to tradition, they come from a letter sent by the Virgin Mary herself to the people of Messina. The story dates back to 42 AD.
After Saint Paul had converted many of the city’s inhabitants, a delegation from Messina is said to have travelled with him to Jerusalem to meet the Virgin Mary and ask for her blessing and protection. Mary entrusted them with a letter written in Hebrew, rolled up and tied with a lock of her hair. The delegation returned to Messina on September 8 of that same year.
