Gold Medals were offered in recognition after a moving mass in honor of Santa Maria de les Neus which was accompanied this year by representation from the Ukrainian community, which joined the floral offering to the patron saint and acknowledged the bishop, Vicent Ribas. As usual, the mayor of Ibiza, Rafa Ruiz, was not present at the religious service, but shortly after presided over the other main event of the day with the city’s Gold Medals presented in recognition for the welfare and solidarity work of the Plataforma Sociosanitaria and the promotion of theater by Merche Chapí.
At the end of the mass in honor of Santa Maria de les Neus, the patron saint of Ibiza and Formentera, the bishop, Vicent Ribas, had a message of special thanks to the Ukrainian community of Santa Eulària, while showing the gift that had been given to him moments before. “It is a staff that they have brought from Ukraine, made by some craftsmen there,” he explained excitedly to the audience that packed the cathedral.
He prayed for peace in Ukraine and the rest of the world, before giving way to the Cor Ciutat d’Ibiza to sing the hymn of the patron saint, ‘Set segles fa’, composed by Baltasar Samper, with lyrics by Isidor Macabich, to commemorate the seventh centenary of the Christian conquest of Ibiza. “But it is now almost eight centuries,” the bishop pointed out, noting that in August 1235 came “faith in Jesus Christ, the greatest gift.”
The hymn gave way to the traditional floral offering to the patron saint, in which representatives from the Ukrainian community were present, while the members of the Colla de Vila accompanied with their castanyoles, tambors and flaütes. Among the bishop’s thanks was the Cor Ciutat d’Ibiza and a special mention went to the effort of the balladors and balladores to face the sweltering heat and go up to Dalt Vila dressed in their traditional costumes. In fact, a good part of the public, especially the tourists, had to resort to the bimonthly magazine of the Diocese to fan themselves. As he did at the beginning of the festa mass, Ribas extended his gratitude to the workers who came with their banners, representing all the parishes of the island, to the political authorities and, in particular, to the four mayors, “of Sant Josep, Santa Eulària, Sant Antoni and Sant Joan” .
Gold Medals of the City
As usual, the mayor of Vila, Rafa Ruiz, was missing in the cathedral although the government team was represented by the third deputy mayor, Carmen Boned and the Councillor for Finance, Estefania Torres, as well as almost all the councilors of the opposition.
Less than an hour after the end of the mass officiated by the bishop, the mayor of Vila presided at the second main ceremony of the day: the delivery of the Gold Medals of the city. It was beginning to get dark in the bastion of Sant Pere when the entire municipal administration took their seats on the stage. In front of them, the nerves and excitement of the two Gold Medal honorees were noted: the theater director Merche Chapí and Antonia Ramón, representing the Plataforma Sociosanitaria de Ibiza y Formentera.