Card. Antonelli Papal Envoy at Montecassino celebrations
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has nominated Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, President Emeritus
of the Pontifical Council for the Family to be his Special Envoy at remembrance celebrations
at the Abbey of Montecassino this week.The occasion is the 70th Anniversary of the Destruction and Reconstruction of Montecassino Abbey scheduled for Friday, March 21.
Founded in 529 by St. Benedict of Norcia, the Abbey of Montecassino suffered in the course of its history, an alternate story of destruction, looting, earthquakes and subsequent reconstruction.
The 2014 celebrations mark the bombardment that destroyed the Abbey in 1944 and went down in history as one of the most horrific battles of World War II.
It was 15 February 1944 when Allied planes bombed the abbey at Montecassino as part of an extended campaign against the Axis forces. Over four months, the Battle of Montecassino caused some 200,000 causalities on both sides.
The reconstruction, which began immediately after the end of the war, was aimed at an exact reproduction of the destroyed architecture. The restoration was carried out from 1948 to 1956, under the direction of engineer Joseph Breccia Fratadocchi, who also made a reconstruction of the Abbey’s interior.
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