Clad with festive aprons and red bandanas, a group of enthusiastic Italo-Canadians rolled up their sleeves to partake in a traditional Italian bread-making workshop on in honour of the culturally significant feast of Santa Maria Salome (St. Mary Salome). 

In the kitchen of St. Philip Neri Parish in northwest Toronto, young adults gathered to make ciammelle — braided, round-shaped bread loaves with anise seeds for St. Mary's feast day (June 8). This bread is a time-honoured specialty in Veroli, a town of around 25,000 people in Italy's Lazio region.  

Sabrina Baldesarra, 30, was happy to attend the workshop because it allowed her to connect with her Italian origins. 

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“Initiatives like these are very important because they allow us to maintain our heritage. It is extremely important that our generation learn the traditions and culture of our ancestors to ensure that they are maintained and passed onto future generations,” she said.  

Veroli honours Santa Maria Salome as its patron saint. Ciammelle, a delicacy of the region, is typically made to honour the patroness on her feast day. In an attempt to bequeath Italian cultural and faith traditions to the young generation, the Veroli Cultural Society put together the “Sagra della Ciammella Workshop” in honour of St. Mary. 

“Our Italian culture is very much intertwined with the Catholic faith,” explained Baldesarra, who is an Italian lector at Immaculate Conception Parish in Woodbridge, Ont. “Italy is a very Catholic country and as a result many of the festivals and feasts celebrated throughout the country are in honour of a religious saint or festivity.”   

It is customary for Italian towns to have devotion to a patron saint, who is believed to protect the town and its surrounding areas. The patron is celebrated annually with a “festa” that includes music, games, food and a procession with the saint’s statue or relic.  

The Veroli Society has a relic of St. Mary — her finger bone — that is used for veneration on feast days. The relic was given to the cultural society by the Basilica of Santa Maria Salome in Veroli.  

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Townspeople in Veroli have honoured Santa Maria Salome as the patron saint of their town for centuries if not millennia. She is venerated as the wife of Zebedee and mother of the apostles James the Greater and John the Evangelist.  

Veroli Cultural Society’s public relations manager Gianni (John) Mignardi — named in honour of St. Mary’s sons — spoke about the patroness’ veneration in Veroli. 

“The legend in Veroli holds that after the Resurrection, the apostles James and John left Israel to spread the Gospel in Rome. Wanting to see her sons, St. Mary followed them but never made it to Rome and died in Veroli, so we made her the patron saint of our town,” said Mignardi, whose parents immigrated to Canada in the 1950s. “St. Mary was one of the three or four Marys at the crucifixion of Christ.” 

For Thomas Lombardi, engaging youth in the faith and cultural traditions of their Italian heritage has always been an important mission. The young Italo-Canadian approached the Veroli Cultural Society and said that he offered to “organize the workshop to get young people aged 18-35 involved in the feast of Santa Maria Salome.” 

Lombardi, believing the event to be a success, said this bodes well for the preservation of Italian culture and faith traditions in the next generation.  

“Young people have what it takes to carry on heritage and faith traditions provided there is an educational component which breaks down the origins and significance of the recurrence as well as a hands-on component.” 

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The Veroli Society celebrated St. Mary’s feast on June 9, the day after the workshop,  at St. Philip Neri with a Mass followed by a gathering with games and food. Some ciammelle made at the workshop were donated for the refreshments and food at the celebration.   

In Veroli, St. Mary’s feast day is celebrated on May 25 and is typically preceded by a novena in honour of her solemnity.