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 On June 23 was the inauguration of the new church of Rovereto sulla Secchia, after the mother church had been rendered unusable due to the earthquake of May 20, 2012 and further hit by the earthquake of May 29. On that occasion, the parish priest, Father Ivan Martini, died because he was hit by a collapse, while trying to salvage some sacred objects including a statue of the Virgin Mary.
The presence of Father Ivan was signified by his chalice on the altar. According to his successor, Don Andrea Zuarri, after the date of the inauguration of the church had been set, it was discovered that it would take place on the same date and at the same time of his ordination, which took place exactly forty years before, on 23 June 1973.
The church was built with the contributions from various donors, including the Community of Sant'Egidio, Caritas Ambrosiana and a bequest of Father Ivan himself. Recalling the visit of Benedict XVI to Rovereto on 26 June 2012, the Bishop of Carpi, Mons. Cavina stressed in his homily how the construction of the new church is the sign of the truth of the words by the Pope emeritus: "you are not, and will not be, alone."
 About 4,000 people lived in Rovereto before the earthquake. Today there remain 2,500. For all of them, the opening of the church is the opportunity to share the moments of pain and joy, to be a community again.
Sant'Egidio was close in the difficult times after the earthquake and did not want to forget, even after the emergency, the need to be sympathetic, now it shares the joy of this community for this new stage of reconstruction not only of buildings, but also of life.
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