Lindsay Marie Morris

For 89 years, San Francisco's La Società di Maria Santissima del Lume has organized Festa delle Madonna del Lume, a grand celebration/memoriam patterned after the original held in Porticello, Sicily.

In addition to serving as a Sicilian-American festival dedicated to Porticello's patroness, the event honors fishermen who were lost or perished at sea. 

Sicilian-American Brianna Dorio Wraa's grandfather was one of those lost. His daughter, Brianna's mother, was just 11 years old when his fishing boat was caught in a swell, and he disappeared off the coast of one of the Farallon Islands. A few years later, the then-teenager found comfort and fellowship within La Società di Maria Santissima del Lume and began attending the group's annual Festa. It's become a family affair. 

Last weekend, Brianna proudly stood before her community for the second year in a row, wearing the crown of Festa della Madonna del Lume Queen. For her, it was an honor and a way to pay tribute to her grandfather's memory. Next month, it will be 50 years since his disappearance. 

Following the festivities, I caught up with Brianna, who is pursuing a degree in communications studies with a minor in human resources management at the University of Nevada-Reno, to chat about the significance of the event, how she became Queen, and her fondest Festa memory.  

How did you become Festa Queen?

For me, it was a little different than normal. My family has always gone to the Festa della Madonna del Lume, and we always saw the queen and the princesses, and everyone wanted to be that. 

Knowing that it was coming up on 50 years with my grandfather's passing, I wanted to do something to honor his memory more than just going to the event. So, I reached out to Rose Cannizzaro, one of our co-presidents.

She said this was great because many people in my generation aren't really focused on preserving the tradition. They usually have younger queens—middle school to high school-aged range—which is great, but when they're finished, they still have a bunch of school left. There's only so much you can do when you're a kid. 

But as an adult, I knew that I wanted to preserve this. I want to make sure that tradition continues for as long as possible. I know it means so much to my family. There are so many people for whom it means so much.

When I joined the committee last year, I immediately started running. A couple of months after I joined the committee, they were having a fundraiser. We got raffle baskets, and we got the centerpieces done. And they were impressed that I was able to get so much done in such little time. Rose and Antonia San Filippo-Ferretti are not only co-presidents of the organization, but Antonia was also the queen and maiden director.

Both called me on a three-way call, and they said, "We would be honored if you were our queen." It was definitely a surprise. I said, "Oh my gosh, I'd love to; I'd be honored."

This organization is special for two reasons. One reason is to honor the Madonna and the very religious aspect. The other side is to honor the fishermen like my grandfather, who were lost at sea. It just meant a lot to be Queen. 

I was able to find girls to be maidens for the court. I've expanded the court, so now we have six maidens. (Last year, we had three maidens.) And we already have girls talking about joining next year. It's nice to see that progression.

I think the committee was just so impressed that I was able to do so much being so young and being so dedicated already that they were like, "This girl is the perfect example of what it means to be dedicated, to honor our organization, and to portray our organization in a great way."

What are your responsibilities as Queen?

I actually changed the way that Queen is thought of. In the past, it was really just for the events and to have a young representation there. So, there weren't really any roles associated with it before I came in. And I set things in stone for the future in a way because, besides being Queen, I am still on the committee and go to the monthly meetings we have. I also am one of the fundraising chairs. So, I work with Antonia to find sponsors for our events.

I try to get the word out. I am the person who runs our social media, our Facebook and Instagram. I am also a co-director of the court. I am super involved, and I will stay involved. And especially with next year being the 90th year, it's really a huge year for us. 

What does Madonna del Lume mean to you personally?

People always talk about how Madonna de Luma shone the light down on the fishermen to help bring them back home. The Madonna can mean so many different things, but for those from fishing families, that's the most heartfelt part. Part of the reason some people come is because of the fishermen who never made it back. I grew up hearing my mom's stories. She was 11, so you know what's happening at that age, but you don't at the same time. I remember her talking about how, in the case of my grandfather, he was just going to show his friend and his friend's son how to do his line of work on a new boat. He was a drag fisherman. 

A swell just came, and it was too big for the boat they had. The Coast Guard searched 24/7 for two weeks, and then, after those two weeks, they called it off.

It was hard. My grandmother was a stay-at-home mom, and she was a widow at 32. She had to not only take care of her children but also compose herself in a way after losing the love of her life.  

Our organization is super-small compared to Porticello's. The entire procession is huge and so focused on the Madonna. I think our organization finds a way to do both.

There are many ways to pray to the Madonna because she is the Mother of Light. It's not just about fishermen returning to shore. It's also about when there's so much darkness in your world, and you need a beacon of light or that light at the end of the tunnel mindset. She is that.

A woman from one of the families associated with our organization went through several miscarriages, and a family member prayed to the Madonna. After they started praying to the Madonna, she got pregnant and was able to conceive and carry to full-term a child. 

I know it means so many different things for so many different families. That's something that's great about the organization: It could mean so many different things, but we all find our way back to the light at the end of the tunnel, in a way.

Can you share a special memory from a past Festa?

Next month is going to be 50 years since my grandfather was lost at sea. I actually had a wreath made in honor of him and surprised my mom with that. And she absolutely had no clue. 

For the past month, we have been running around doing a bunch of different things to get ready for this Festa. She kept saying this year, "I need to get a wreath made. I need to get flowers. I need to do this. I need to do that. I need to do all these things."

Because I'm in Reno, I flew on Thursday night and had Thursday and Friday, and then the Festa was on Saturday and Sunday. So there wasn't really a lot of time to get flowers or make a wreath. I remembered someone I know, a beginner florist, and I asked her. She had never done a wreath before, and she was like, "I can try, but I've only done bouquets." And I was like, "Anything is better than nothing at this point."

So we worked together, and it turned out amazing. My friend Gracie came in on Saturday to spend the day with us, and I was like, "Hey, on your way to my house, can you pick up this wreath I had made from my mom? It's a surprise."

I knew my mom was so stressed and worked up. On Friday night, she said, "I never got flowers. I never got a wreath made." And she was really upset about it. 

Then my mom walked into the living room Saturday morning, right before we were about to leave, and she saw the wreath and said, "Wait."

She turned to my friend and said, "Did you make this?" 

Gracie said, "No, Brianna had it made. I just picked it up." My mom started bawling. 

Obviously, you don't want to make your mom cry, but in a way, I think the rush of emotions just hit her. 

There were also a lot of overflowing emotions just because this is something I've always wanted. Being Queen of this organization, representing this organization, and representing my family have always been very important to me. 

Usually, they have the outgoing queen crown the incoming queen. But last year, because they found out my family's history and that my mom had recently just finished radiation for breast cancer and had missed the year prior, they asked my mom, "Do you want to crown Brianna?"

There's a picture of her crowning me in Saints Peter and Paul's Church. Those are two memories that I'll definitely always have.

What do you hope to share with the broader community?

Even though everything is about being Sicilian and Italian, we are inclusive of everything else. I will also say that even though we love our traditions and keep to them as much as possible, it's so great to see us expanding. And I know that next year, being the 90th year, it's going to be our biggest year yet.

We've already talked to different organizations about creating an entire gallery for next year. It is going to be really exciting to share all the past photos and commemorate the fact that this has been happening for 90 years. We've always been a smaller organization, and it comes together. We love our traditions, but we also love creating new traditions.

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My grandparents came to the U.S. from the fishing village of Porticello, which is currently hosting festivities revolving around the legend of the Madonna del Lume, patroness and protector of the sea. The centuries-old celebration culminates in a grand procession of a legendary painting of the Madonna from Chiesa Di Maria Santissima Del Lume through the streets before it is loaded onto a fishing boat and paraded on the sea to a sacred shrine.  

While my grandparents settled in Milwaukee, a contingent of Porticello immigrants settled in California—mainly in San Francisco and San Diego, which have continued the tradition of Festa della Madonna del Lume and are each hosting events this weekend. 

I recently featured San Francisco's celebration. To learn more about San Diego's Festa, which takes place on Sunday, October 6, I reached out to Giuseppe Sanfilippo, a first-generation Italian-American and currently the President of the Madonna del Lume Society of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in San Diego's Little Italy. 

Giuseppe's parents were born in Sicily and came to the U.S. from Porticello. We discussed how San Diego's Madonna del Lume Society started and impacted his personal life and connection to his Sicilian heritage. 

Tell us how San Diego's Madonna del Lume Society started.

The Madonna del Lume Society in San Diego was established in October 1937 by the families of Sicilian fishermen who originate from the fishing village of Porticello, Sicily. The Feast of the Madonna del Lume shares quite visibly with our community a tradition and a profound story of faith and hope. It is a story of the powerful intercession of the Madonna on behalf of a group of Sicilian fishermen who were tormented and cast off course by torrential storms at sea and faced the tragedy of perishing at sea. 

These seafaring men, although experienced at sea, were frightened, unsure, and desperate for guidance and safety to return to shore and embrace their families and community once more. It was in these moments of grave darkness and fear that God answered the faithful prayers of these fishermen, who had humbled themselves in complete trust and devotion to God. God answered their prayers with a glowing light illuminating the dark sky above.

As the wise men once followed the guiding star over Bethlehem to visit our newborn savior over 2,000 years ago, the Sicilian fishermen gratefully recognized and received God's blessing and answer to their prayers. They faithfully followed the glowing light shown above to guide them safely home again. 

Upon returning safely home, the fishermen continued to follow the mysterious guiding light above to a grotto near Porticello. Exploring the sea cave, they found a slab of marble bearing the Madonna's image. They carried it into town, but twice, it mysteriously returned to the grotto. The community decided to leave the image of the Madonna at the grotto and build a church on the spot to protect it. It is fervently believed in Sicily that the lives of hundreds of fishermen have been saved by the intervention of our Blessed Maria Santissima del Lume, Our Most Holy Mother of Light, the guardian and patroness of fishermen.

To this day, we continue to celebrate and honor the Madonna del Lume for her guidance and intercession in guiding fishermen safely home and into Christ's light. This story is for fishermen, but it is truly a story for all of us, wherever we are on our journey in life. It is a story of a return home, and it is also a story of a return to faith, a return to God. 

How many times in our lives, especially in these current times, have we been lost, confused, uncertain, or fearful? "Lost at sea," so to speak. Whether we are fishermen at sea, laborers on land, or workers at home, this story gives each of us hope that there is always a light, no matter how dark, and there is always faith, no matter how hopeless our situation is. This remembrance of the Madonna del Lume shows us how powerful Our Most Holy Mother's intercession is on our behalf as Christ's ambassador of light to each of us.

When some of the original fishermen began immigrating to the United States, they brought their traditions with them. They formed Madonna del Lume societies in Boston, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and San Diego. The Madonna del Lume Society of San Diego was first stationed at St. Joseph Cathedral on Third Avenue before moving to Our Lady of the Rosary in 1938. Today, the Society has reached over 250 members and continues to grow and preserve the traditions of those first fishermen.

Each October, over the last 87 years, after a solemn High Mass, a faithfully devoted group of men and women, old and young alike, and a young queen representing the Society, walk in a procession with the Vara of the Madonna del Lume from the OLR Church to the Embarcadero. There, the clergy sprinkles holy water on the boats, blessing all of the fishermen and praying for their protection from harm. He also asks for abbondanza in the catch. For the last 20-plus years, we have also had fireworks, a tradition carried from Porticello to celebrate the Madonna.

Today, in Porticello, Sicily, the Festa della Madonna del Lume is also still thriving. The Festa spans the full first week of October each year, and the entire municipality participates in the procession of La Madonna with fireworks and veneration of La Madonna at the original church of Madonna del Lume.

Traditionally, on the Monday of the feast, the sacred painting of the Madonna is taken down from the altar of the village church and processed throughout the town and its port. Devotees pack the sanctuary, hoping for an opportunity to touch and rub the painting on its way to the street to possess its healing and protective powers. It's a moving moment to experience.

This beautiful religious and cultural celebration has been passed on to many of our members through their families' Sicilian Catholic heritage and many years of community collaboration to keep this special tradition alive and vibrant in San Diego. Many members have learned from a young age about the purity, grace, and strength of our Most Holy Mother as our protective, loving, and most powerful ambassador of Christ in the midst of a challenging and often chaotic world. 

How does the Society engage with the broader community in San Diego?

We are one of several Marion Societies of Our Lady of the Rosary. We have joined together as one during the OLR Festa and have one procession. We are also active in the Italian American community and events that occur throughout the year. 

How has being part of the Madonna del Lume Society impacted your personal life and connection to your heritage?

I have a strong connection to the Madonna del Lume, and it has inspired me to be a true Catholic. I believe in the Catholic Faith and our Lord Jesus Christ, praying through the intercession of our Blessed Mother. 

What do you hope participants take away from Festa della Madonna del Lume?

Our Blessed Mother is the Light of the World who prays for us and leads us closer to Christ so that our children and youth find their way in life. This leads us all to God's grace and eternal life.  

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