BY Ian Dunn | May 16 2014 | 
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Orkney’s Italian Chapel is ‘a sign of peace and reconciliation,’ Pope says
Publication Date: 2014-05-16
Holy Father gives Papal Blessing marking 70th anniversary of chapel built during the Second World War by Italian prisoners of war ahead of Sunday Mass celebrated by the nuncio in the tiny chapel
Pope Francis has sent a special blessing to mark the 70th anniversary of the Italian Chapel in Orkney ahead of an anniversary Mass on Sunday celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain and Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti.
The chapel was built during the Second World War by Italian prisoners of war and has since become the island’s number one tourist attraction. In his message, Pope Francis prays ‘that this chapel, built in time of war, may continue to be a sign of peace and reconciliation.’
The magnificent interior, created with scraps of wood and metal and paints provided by an enlightened camp commandant turned the Nissen huts (above) into a tiny basilica-style space filled with light and images of angels and the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Regina Pacis—Queen of Peace. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the departure of the Italian prisoners from Orkney.
On Sunday an anniversary Mass will be held in the tiny chapel, celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Antonio Mennini and former Glasgow Archbishop Mario Conti.
The nuncio will read the text of Pope Francis’s message at the Mass.
Present at the Mass will be a group of visitors from the town of Moena in the north of Italy, home of Domenico Chiocchetti, the main prisoner-artist of the chapel, including some members of his family.
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