“I wonder why they always choose him.”
This is the question Biagio Gamba poses, tongue in check, about the many and diverse groups of “faithful” who ask for and assign Saint Michael the power to protect them. He points out that Saint Michael is the protector of hosiers, hatters, apothecaries, scale makers, pharmacists, merchants, judges, radiologists, gilders, grocers, parachuters, and state police.
So far, so good. But, Gamba reveals, such polar opposites as Fascist black shirts, Italy’s Partisans, and … members of the Mafia organization ‘Ndrangheta, have also turned to him for protection in their fighting and killing missions. (Apparently ‘Ndrangheta mafiosi burn a Saint Michael image during their oath of affiliation.)
Gamba’s sardonic comment about why Fascists, Partisans, and Mafiosi should all trust in Saint Michael’s help is that He is also the protector of those who dying ask that their souls be saved.
