The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Provenzano

The Provenzano Community

The solid base of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Provenzano is its community, a lively, united, and diligent community which is the foundation of the life of the church all year round and not just during the festive days of the Palio. It has to be pointed out that this is a young parish, created in the early 1980s by the union of the parishes of San Donato, San Pietro a Ovile, and San Cristoforo.
The parish council is very active, especially since the Opera di Provenzano was suppressed at the beginning of 2005, and carries out various tasks with the help of the faithful. Every day someone sees to cleaning and taking care of this great masterpiece of art and architecture, making it accessible to tourists passing through and anyone who wants to stop in for silent prayer.
The Catechism group is dynamic and full of initiative. Once the lesson is over, there is time for a game of soccer, or organizing some new game, studying the songs to be sung during Mass on Sunday, or learning to play the guitar.
The Family Group is active since 2004; once a month it meets for Sunday lunch in the parish hall, after which the group engages in prayer and study of the Holy Scriptures. Another monthly meeting is devoted to adult catechism led by the priest, and before summer vacation, an outdoor Mass is celebrated, followed by a festive lunch.
Another important part of the Provenzano community is the youth group known as ACR (Azione Cattolica Ragazzi) which meets every other Sunday morning for breakfast and preparation for Mass; they also organize ‘long’ days when they stay after lunch in order to spend time all together.