and now there is a queue. Even graduates among the 95 candidates – Corriere.it

They were looking for one, now there are too many. 95 responded to the request of the parish of Curtain to find a sacristan. An avalanche of responses from all over Italy, people of all ages and with the most varied degrees. It seemed an almost impossible undertaking and, on the other hand, the race for a very particular job, in a dolomite basin kissed by God for the beauty of its landscapes, seems to never stop: “Write it down – asks the parish priest Don Ivano Brambilla, 55, from Milan , chaplain in Cortina from 1993 to 1998 and then pastor dean since 2017 -, he writes that we no longer accept applications. ”The pastor, who yesterday dedicated his day to the spiritual retreat of the nuns, a month ago was forced to use a method never previously used in Cortina, more linked than ever to traditions: send your resume to the parish email address.

The surprise of this sensational success was great. “We did not expect it. They also locked up people with degrees in Economics, Art History, Literature. People from 25 to 70 years old, coming from Sicily to Valtellina, but there were only four women. Those who will be elected, after a careful reading of all the resumes, which will begin on January 7 by the parish priest with the Pastoral Council and the Economic Affairs Commission, will be paid a salary that respects the national contract of sacristans: 12 months, thirteenth and fourteenth, a figure that is around 1,300 euros per month. The added value is not only: being able to enjoy the beauty that the Queen of the Dolomites offers between one service and another. Some people, coming from areas closer to Cortina, will have a face-to-face interview, but most will be heard online.

As for food and accommodation, we have not yet made a final decision ”. The parish was left without a sacristan after this task was carried out flawlessly for 60 years by members of the same family from a nearby Ladino valley, who passed the “trade” from father to son. «The last sacristan – says Don Ivano – was Giovanni Suani who left his post for 20 years. So until now we have never faced this problem. During these last months in which the position was “vacant”, to take charge of the custody and cleaning of the 18th century parish church dedicated to Saints Felipe and Santiago, which became a minor basilica in 2011, was a lady of Cortina, full of good will, pending the search for a full-time sacristan.

«Among those who answered us – says the parish priest -, a third is linked somehow to the ecclesiastical environment, people who have already done the sacristan also in the form of volunteers, but the others are looking for work, and have asked to be hired to support the family. We can’t acctempt everyone, but this makes us understand the situation in which we find ourselves“Don Ivano was also infected in November by Covid-19, but has recovered well. He is very popular with villagers and tourists, believers and non-believers alike. Not only because of his sermons, never banal or boring, but also because , despite wearing the cassock, it is not difficult for him to be seen even in civilian clothes on his e-bike or on skis. “We are looking for people – he concludes – who do not worry about paper, but about the service that is due lend to the Church and the people of God “.