The sale is over. We're tired but satisfied. It was an unexpected success, and we owe it all to you. Every one of you answered my call from early October. So many people helped—some of them not usually involved with Faith and Light—that it would be impossible to thank you individually.
It wasn't until early October that Maria Posani and I found ourselves saddled with running the sale. How we ended up trapped in this, I'm still not sure. I thought Maria had some experience in this sort of thing, and she thought the same of me. The truth is, we were two blissfully ignorant amateurs. We had no idea how much work lay ahead, and we didn't know where to begin.
A mountain of used goods arrived—so much that we ran out of places to put it. Things kept coming, and everything had to be examined, sorted, catalogued, arranged. It never stopped.
Rome's November Sale
Once again, we had to rely on the generous hospitality of the Sisters of Nazareth. Understanding our predicament, they let us use their old refectory as a workspace and storage.
While Maria and I roamed Rome hunting for a suitable venue and sorted through mountains of donated goods, you were all at home—crocheting, knitting, sewing, painting ceramics and glassware, ironing. We organized work teams, each with a captain to keep tabs on progress.
The leather team was still finishing their bags just days before the sale opened. The last ones became sample pieces to take orders. We owe a huge thanks to Vittorio, who led his team with such patience and gave so much of his time.
Right up to the last moment we were pricing items, wrapping things, putting new goods into clear bags to protect them and make contents visible at a glance. Then we packed everything into sealed boxes labeled with their contents—to make it easier to haul the merchandise from Nazareth to San Gioacchino the day before the sale.
We never imagined we'd need two full days to set up the sales hall. Only thanks to my two sisters-in-law, Stefania and Maria Luisa (Monica's mother), who answered our desperate call for help and worked with us from eight in the morning, did we manage to be ready in time.
Then divine providence sent Georges Paquet at exactly the right moment. Poor Georges. He'd dropped in on us suddenly for a few days' visit. Instead, we put him straight to work.
But Saturday, after the sale, he caught the train back to France. Thank you, Georges! (But then again, this is Faith and Light—you knew that, didn't you?)
The used goods sale was a huge success. I never would have imagined how successful. We even managed to sell Maria Posani's beautiful new coat for 1,000 lire. When Maria went off duty at lunchtime, her coat was gone. Fortunately, we managed to remember who'd bought it, and she was able to get it back. Maria, did you reimburse your customer the 1,000 lire?
Thanks to Michele for creating beautiful artistic posters to display in the surrounding churches. Unfortunately, they didn't have the desired effect because of the earthquake. Some people thought it wasn't right to appeal for donations for a sale at such a tragic moment.
Even so, we managed to collect roughly three and a half million lire. I say roughly because our accounts aren't entirely closed yet. There are still paintings and other items to sell, and we'll try to move them privately or through a raffle. We'll see.
The large painting donated by artist Vincenzo Cervone, which we raffled off, was won by Enrica Nucci—which made everyone happy, because Enrica worked hard for the sale and brought her whole family into it.
The money we collected will cut everyone's quota in half, as we promised at the start. About 300 of us are now going to Lourdes from Rome—maybe more. So 3 million divided by 300? That's 10,000 lire per person. I know it's not much!
We need to find more money another way. It's delicate to say this, but if some of you could pay the full amount without taking the 10,000 lire discount, we could offer a bigger reduction to those who need it most. If anyone has a brilliant idea, speak up. It should be dignified, of course. Don't suggest robbing a bank.
On behalf of Maria Posani as well, I thank you all for your help. See you in Lourdes.
Olga Gammarelli, 1981