ITALIAN TRANSLATIONHISTORY OF THE SS ROSARY PARISH:-
From historical documents of 1800 , we know that the church of Saliano was under the stewardship of the Parish of Rogliano, but was entrusthed to the Parish of Parenti for ecclesiastic guidance and support. Towards the end of the 1800's, due to the loss of sponsorship from the Barons Ricciullo del Posso, and the loss of parishioners to emigration, the parish of Parenti was reduced to abject poverty and found it extremely difficult to attract qualified priests who would accept such stewardship.
To help alleviate these hardships, the church of Saliano was designated "the parish of S. Nicola alle Vigne", but one could not find any statue of this Saint in the church and no particular devotion to S. Nicola evolved. The 10th of April 1999, on the occasion of the pastoral visit by his excellency Giuseppe Agostino, the parishioners petitioned the bishop that the church may be dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary to whom the faithful of Saliano are devoted. His excellency accepted the request and , today, the parish is known as : SS ROSARY.
HISTORICAL RECORDS
Pastoral visits to the Parish of Parenti.
The first pastoral visit occurred October 22, 1768, the second, October 21, 1777. From 1780 to 1794, there were pastoral visits almost every year. Pastoral visits were made by: Marcello Macarone [7/4/1780 and 9/9/1786], Carelli [ 2/8/1871], Paolo Flavio [2/15/1783,10/13/1787, 10/29/1788, 1/14/1790] , Tommaso Piro [7/17/1790 and 9/25/1792], Antonio de Rosa [7/17/1791], Mario Pace [10/19/1793,], Giovanni Paschio [9/26/1794.
Very spotty records exhist of the visits- Visitatus etc........[metti il latino],the archives of the Diocese of Cosenza have no recrd of these events.
In November of 1823, a pastoral visit petitioned by the towns people was undertaken at which time accusations of dereliction of duty in the discharge of his office were lodged against the local priest, Mastroianni, who was eventually cleared of any impropriety as the charges were deemed to be false.[from a report resulting from an investigation of Mons. Domenico Mancinelli dei Conti di Narnia from Rogliano]. This investigation was clearly instigated by the accusing towns people who, in the previous year ,oct,11,1822, on the occasion of another Holy visit raised the same accusations. Subsequently, there was another Pastoral visit where it was concluded that: " This day of October, having completed our investigation, we recommend the following actions: The people are forbidden to parade the Crucifix during funeral processions. Since the power of attorney excersiced by the priest, Di Scipione Mastroianni has been revoked, there remain funds in the amount of 183 Ducats. As to the spiritual aspects of this case, we find that the priest Mastroianni managed the finances in a proper manner and his conduct was irreproachable." [Rogliano Dec.10.1822-ltr addressed to Ithe Vicar of the Diocese of the Archibishop of Cosenza].
From 1823 to 1828 there were other pastoral visits. I N A 1829 visit we find another favourable accounting of Mastroianni's conduct: "Ihave finally stopped at the parochial church of Santa Maria del Carmine of Parenti enthrusted to Rev. Mastroianni. I have found all things in order. The priest discharges his duties in a proper manner. Having concluded my visit, I WISH TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION TWO ITEMS OF IMPORTANCE :- The first is the necessity to rekindle the ecclesiastic spirit, the other is the improve the collections during mass and also tend to repairs in the church. To remedy the first problem , I suggest we withdraw all ecclesiastic personnel from this area until a suitable priest is able to persuade the people to assume full responsibility for their actions and behave with dignity.' ] Forania of R OGLIANO oct. 30,1828.]
HISTORICAL RECORDS; THE CONGREGATION OF PARENTI-
In 1831, Archibishop Domenico Mancinelli made a pastoral visit ," In visitationae Parentorum et Saliani'", During which, urged by the people of Parenti, wrote the following letter on 29 august 1831 to his Excellency the Minister and Secretary of State for ecclesiastic affairs in Naples :-"Excellency, I believe it would be practical and useful to allow the formation of a secular brotherhood in this municipality called Parenti where I am presently conducting a Holy Diocesan visit. I humbly beg you to give your blessing to this endeavor. This municipality has 1500 inhabitants and is located at the foothills of Mount Cotronei and is part of my Diocese. The people are gentle and engage mainly in agriculture. Some are property owners who help maintain order and behave with religious piety towards their peers.In consideration of their enthusiasm, I have promised them to intercede with our govt to allow the formation of a secular congregation which will be known as the SS SACRAMENT OF MARIA DEL CARMINE. I urge you to send us the necessary documents, as I will take responsibility to set all the rules and regulations acceptable to our govt and generally promote the wellbeing of the church and the Royal govt."- This letter surprises as it categorizes the people of Parenti as being of a docile nature and law abiding citizens ! We are surprised because this period is a particularly turbulent one for Parenti. Lawlessness prevailed everywhere and echos of the trials for the murder of the French soldierds were just beginning to die down. Probably, these events persuaded the Bishop to intercede with the Bourbon govt to obtain their blessing and agreement. This has relevance since, following the epic insurrections in Naples of May 15, 1848, the people of Parenti turned sympathetic to the revolutionary ideas of the insurrectionist aand many joined the secret sect of the Carbonari.[revolutionaries]. The priest, Scipione Mastroianni, remained loyal to the Crown to the end. The historian Raffaelle de Cesare, writing in " A FAMILY OF PATRIOTS " notes that a secret statute of the Carboneria, found in P ARENTI , hidden in the bell tower of the church, was burned in the town square by the priest in full church regalia.
The loathing of the Carboneria by the clergy of Parenti, convinced the king of Naples to allow the founding of the Brotherhood of Maria SS del Carmelo. The Royal decree was signed in N APLES on Oct.13,1854. The brotherhood's main purpose was to practice and follow religious teachings and perform good deeds in the spirit of Christianity ;to be carefull not to offend oneanother,but to understand with forgiveness the faults of others; to never argue or fight amongst themselves, and ,above all, forgive all trespasses with Christian charity as in the Holy Bible.
To be admitted to the Brotherhood, one had to submit a written request to the governing body."Each brother, upon admission, had to pay a yearly fee,until the age of 20, a fee of 60 Granas[cents ?],older than 20 but not over 40, a fee of 80 granas; from 40 to 50, 1 Ducat [ 1 $ ?] ; fro 50 years onwards, the fees were set by the cashier of the association based on the age and the economic conditions of the applicant." This admission fee was changed to Lire 1.25 from 1900 to 1913; to L 2 per annum in 1914-1922; and L 5 in 1945, L 10 in 1946.[ ACCORDING TO THE LEDGERS OF THE CASHIER OF THE BROTHERHOOD]
The members enjoyed the following privileges:- Each brother, upon his or her death, colud be buried with appropriate rituals in the cemetery plots owned by the brotherhood. The assoc, would pay the priets' fees and all other expenses of burials. As soon as practical, the assoc. would finance a funeral High Mass. From the records of the assoc. we can see that these privileges were respected in all cases:- Felicetti Angela, died 12/15/1928,funeral mass celebrated 1/13/29 . Sirianni Luigi,died 5/22/1927, funeral mass 10/23/1929,etc....The Brotherhood was disbanded in 1950.