Messina, June 27, 2026 – The opening ceremony celebrating the bicentennial of the foundation of the “Collereale” Hospitality House took place today. The institution was founded in 1827 by Don Giuseppe Capece Minutolo, Prince of Collereale, Knight of the Order of St. Januarius, the Order of Francis I, and the Order of St. George. The charity originated from his holographic will, made public in 1827, in which he designated as his universal heirs “the poor of this city and its hamlets who are paralyzed, crippled, lame, or suffer from any other bodily affliction or defect that prevents them from working or earning their daily bread, up to the number that the annual revenue of my inheritance can support.”
To honor this continuity with the founder, the President of the Institute, Monsignor Mario Di Pietro, invited the Constantinian Knights to Messina. The Sicilian delegation was led by Vice-Delegate Antonio di Janni, Chancellor Claudio Ragusa, Vincenzo Nuccio, and Giovanni Impastato, alongside knights Letterio Sciliberto, Felice Alessandro Gambadoro, Arturo Scirrone, Pasquale Marchesano, Salvatore Scalzo, and Don Vincenzo Majuri. The Calabria delegation also took part, represented by Vice-Delegate Aurelio Badolati and Master of Ceremonies Carlo Parisio.
The guest of honor was His Excellency the Most Reverend Monsignor Cesare Di Pietro, the newly appointed Bishop of Locri-Gerace and former Auxiliary Bishop of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela, who holds the rank of Ecclesiastical Knight Grand Cross of Grace. The Vice-Delegate of Sicily conveyed greetings from His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Bourbon Two Sicilies and the Grand Prefect, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of Bourbon Two Sicilies. On this occasion, the Grand Master conferred the Gold Medal of Merit upon the Collereale Institute. Additionally, a Bronze Medal was awarded to the Director, Dr. Giuseppe Turrisi, while Monsignor Roberto Romeo , Archiepiscopal Delegate for the Cathedral Basilica, and Don Pietro Scolaro, Vice President of “Collereale, were appointed Ecclesiastical Knights of Grace.
Mother Superior Sister Therese Nahimana, head of the religious sisters serving at Collereale, addressed the assembly to greet the guests and outline the various activities carried out within the facility. The vice-delegates of Sicily and Calabria then presented the Knight Grand Cross diploma to Monsignor Cesare Di Pietro, sealing the institutional cooperation between the two regional delegations.
Furthermore, the vicar delegate of Sicily recalled that, during his tenure as Auxiliary Bishop, Monsignor Cesare Di Pietro named a hall in the Seminary of Messina after the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to protect the Bourbon documents preserved there, a dedication that took place during a past visit by Princess Beatrice of Bourbon Two Sicilies. The event concluded with a Vin d’Honneur and the presentation of medals from the Sicilian delegation to Monsignor Cesare Di Pietro, Monsignor Mario Di Pietro, Vice-Delegate Aurelio Badolati, and Master of Ceremonies Giorgio Parisio.
