Campanelle "Little Bells" or Gigli "Lily" Pasta Ideas

Campanelle is a pasta shaped like a cone with a ruffled edge. It is Italian for "bellflowers” or "little bells" due to its shape like a bell or bell-shaped flower. This pasta shape is also referred to as gigli which means lily. Campanelle is intended to be served with heavier sauces or in a casserole.

It is part of tradition in Christian art to use lilies as a symbol of purity when portraying Our Lady or the Saints and even Angels.  The lily is an emblem of purity and chastity. It is the flower the medievals found to best symbolize the purity of Mary, and was admired as a flower of purity since the time of the Ancients. By the 14th century, it became common to find the lily in Annunciation paintings and illuminations, with either St. Gabriel holding it on in a vase between them.

There are numerous saints depicted with a lily or a bell which would be fitting for a campanelle pasta meal idea on feast days.  This week we happen to have a prominent lily associated saint - St. Kateri, the Lily of the Mohawks. But it is a good year round option due to the many saints associated and depicted with lilies or bells, as well as all the Marian feasts.  

St. Anthony the Hermit - January 17
St. Agnes - January 21
St. Agatha - February 5
St. Casimir - March 4
St. Joseph - March 19
Feast of the Annunciation - March 25
St. Agnes of Montepulciano - April 20
St. Catherine of Siena - April 29
St. Anthony of Padua - June 13
St. Aloysius Gonzaga - June 21
St. Maria Goretti - July 6
St. Kateri Tekakwitha - July 14
St. Dominic - August 8
St. Philomena - August 11
St. Gabriel the Archangel - September 29

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St. Maria Goretti's Flames of Forgiveness Cupcakes

Today, July 6th, is the feast of St. Maria Goretti!  We have a bunch of friends coming over for some Saintly Summer Fun to honor this beautiful saint, who was a "Martyr for Purity."

As I was trying to come up with a snack for the children I decided to focus on tying in the lily, the symbol for St. Maria, and the vision Alessandro had of Maria, leading to his conversion: 

"While in prison for his crime, Alessandro had a vision of Maria. He saw a garden where a young girl, dressed in white, gathered lilies. She smiled, came near him, and encouraged him to accept an armful of the lilies. As he took them, each lily transformed into a still white flame. Maria then disappeared. This vision of Maria led to Alessandro’s conversion, and he later testified at her cause for beatification." ~ SQPN

Supplies:

Lily Lollipops - St. Maria is often pictured with an armful of Lilies, which symbolize purity.  You can purchase the mold here.

Mini Marshmallows - 7 for each cupcake, cut at a diagonal to create 14 flames. These represent the 14 lilies that St. Maria offered Alessandro in a vision, one for each of the 14 times she was stabbed in the heart, which then transformed into 14 still white flames.

Red Cupcake Liners with White Cupcakes and Frosting - Symbolizing the fact that St. Maria was a Martyr (red) for Purity (white).

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for us! 

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