“Sulla Preghiera by Papàs Antonio Calisi will be presented in Bari" by Carlo Coppola
A journey through Byzantine spirituality, iconography and Eastern Christian tradition at the heart of Bari
BARI – January 25, 2026. On Sunday, January 25, 2026, at 8:00 p.m., following the Holy Mass, the Parish of the Most Precious Blood in San Rocco, Bari, will host the presentation of the book On Prayer. A Spiritual Journey by Papàs Antonio Calisi, priest of the Byzantine Rite Catholic Church.
The book offers an inner itinerary of the soul in which spirituality, theology, art and narrative converge, fully revealing the multifaceted profile of its author: priest of the Eparchy of Lungro, theologian, iconographer and refined interpreter of the Eastern Christian tradition.
In On Prayer, Father Calisi masterfully combines doctrinal rigor and artistic sensitivity, proposing a unified vision of faith deeply rooted in the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, with particular reference to the Philokalia. Prayer is presented not as an esoteric practice reserved for a few, but as an accessible, concrete and transformative path open to every believer.
Each chapter unfolds as a true “verbal icon”, capable of introducing the reader to the Prayer of the Heart, contemplative silence and personal dialogue with God, through the same symbolic and luminous language that characterizes the author’s iconographic work.
The presentation will take place at the historic Parish of the Most Precious Blood in San Rocco (Via Sagarriga Visconti 57), entrusted since July 4, 1942, to the Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood, a congregation founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. For more than eighty years, the parish has been a spiritual and cultural landmark for the neighborhood and for the entire city of Bari.
Today the parish community is led by Parish Priest Don Terenzio Pastore, assisted by Don Enzo Napoli, continuing a long missionary tradition marked by preaching, formation and pastoral closeness.
The evening will be moderated by Prof. Carlo Coppola, PhD in Italian Studies, scholar of Armenian culture and editor of the daily newspaper InCittà Giovinazzo. He will guide the dialogue with the author, highlighting the deep connections between theology, literature, iconography and Eastern spirituality.
Both in his book and in his pastoral ministry, Papàs Antonio Calisi does not present himself as a distant teacher, but as a spiritual father who guides, listens and consoles, capable of speaking to the heart of contemporary men and women through a living Tradition, not frozen in the past but incarnated in everyday life.
The event is part of the broader cultural and spiritual program promoted by the Parish of the Most Precious Blood in San Rocco, confirming it as a vibrant meeting place of faith, art and the spoken word, a true workshop of humanity and a school of prayer in the heart of Bari.
Carlo Coppola
