Italian Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero announced the aid for St. Nicholas´ Church on Wednesday. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Bari.
“I have brought just a small gesture of solidarity, but I believe it a significant one,” Ruggiero said.
The church has about 80 members. The building was constructed in 1832 and later housed a tavern. Greek immigrants made it a church in 1916.
Orthodox Father John Romas said he wants the church to be rebuilt as a memorial to the attack victims. See http://www.stnicholasnyc.org/.
“When amid the other terrible news that arrived from New York, it was known that even the little church, built in 1916, dedicated to San Nicola, … was destroyed, we heard almost a call in the name of St. Nicholas,´´ Bari Mayor Simeone di Cagno Abbresciadi told the ANSA news agency.
