Sacred oil is used for the Sacraments in every parish in the Diocese of Allentown, and that oil is consecrated each year at the Chrism Mass on the Wednesday of Holy Week.
The oil at this year’s Chrism Mass, April 1, will have special significance for Pino and Laura Pugliano, parishioners of Holy Guardian Angels, Reading.
The Puglianos import fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil directly from their family’s farm in Southern Italy and sell it along with other Italian products at their shop, Ciccio’s Olives in West Reading.
It takes a lot of oil for the Sacraments at all 78 parishes for a whole year, so the Puglianos have donated 14 gallons of their family’s olive oil for this year’s Chrism Mass.
“It’s an honor for us to supply the oil that will be used for the Sacraments, bringing people into the Church and anointing them near the end of their lives,” said Laura. “We’re very proud to do it,” said Pino.
The Chrism Mass takes its name from the Sacred Chrism, the oil used at the Ordination of Priests and Bishops, and at Baptisms and Confirmations. At the Mass, Bishop Alfred Schlert consecrates the Sacred Chrism and blesses two other oils, the Oil of the Sick and the Oil of the Catechumens.
After the Mass, priests pick up containers of these oils for use at their parishes during the year.
In biblical times, pure olive oil was important for lighting, healing, and anointing, and represented God’s presence. While olive trees generally live for hundreds of years, some have lived more than 2,000 years, so it’s possible that some of the same trees alive in the time of Jesus Christ are still producing oil today.
Pino and Laura’s family farm is in the tiny Calabrian town of Vena di Maida, midway between the heel and the toes of Italy’s boot. It’s a place where there are far more olive trees than people, and where Pino’s father and brother tend to their olive trees on a sun-drenched farm that has been in the family for generations.
To learn more about Ciccio’s Olives, go to www.cicciosolives.com.
Article and Photo by Paul Wirth.
