by The Craco Society

With the closing of St. Joseph's Church the Society's plan to preserve the 114 year old statue of San Vincenzo and the relic from 1769 is moving forward. We are working with the Archdiocese of NY to complete a "Memo Of Understanding" that will include details about how we will work together in placing and maintaining the statue at The Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, 113 Baxter St., Manhattan.

The document is being handled by Society Director and lawyer, Stephen S. LaRocca, Esq. Included in this agreement will be requirements for insuring the statue for loss or damage. Although the historic value is incalculable, the insurance company will use a replacement cost to arrive at the annual premiums. This will be a new ongoing cost that will have to come from the San Vincenzo Reserve Funds that were established by the Society. 

After the agreement is completed arrangements will be made to safely move the statue from St. Joseph's Church. D'Ambrosio Ecclesiastical Art Studios has designing a display case that will serve as both a transport case for the move to Most Precious Blood and a display case. The design is being modeled after the one in Craco that holds the actual relic of San Vincenzo.

Moving San Vincenzo the sixtenths of a mile between the two churches will create one time costs for constructing the case, transporting the statue, and preparation of the new location at Most Precious Blood.

To deal with this extraordinary expense and provide for future needs to preserve and protect this unique part of Cracotan history the Board of Directors
is setting an initial goal of raising $6,500 for the San Vincenzo Fund.

Currently, the Fund has a balance of $4,147 which will be used to cover the $3,500 cost of the new display case to house the San Vincenzo statue, leaving $647 in the San Vincenzo Fund. The $6,500 objective is intended to replace the funds spent for the new display case and then cover the anticipated expenses for moving, preparation of the new location, insurance, and annual maintenance.

We do not know the amounts of these new expenses yet but feel that if we reach the goal we should be able to cover them and retain any amounts in the San Vincenzo Fund to make the reserve larger so we do not have to come to you every time an expense surfaces."

We hope every member will contribute something, every bit will help but donors contributing $50-$99 will receive a statue of San Vincenzo as an acknowledgement for your support. Contributors donating $100 or more
can order a memorial plaque that will be attached to the rear  of the new display case.

The statue and relic are the last pieces of our Crachese ancestry remaining in New York City and it is now up to us to preserve that piece of history for our ancestors and for the future.

SEND YOUR DONATIONS TO:
The Craco Society, 14 Earl Road, East Sandwich, MA 02537  or by PayPal to: memberservices@thecracosociety.org Contact us at (774) 269-6611 or by email at: memberservices@thecracosociety.org