Religious Festivals in Sicily: the Year's Calendar for Pilgrims

In Sicily every town has its saint, and every saint has a feast. Some feasts are among the largest religious events in Europe, others are small and intimate. Here is a calendar of the main ones, useful for planning a spiritual trip at the right time. The dates given are the traditional ones: programmes and times should always be checked on parish and town websites.

January-February

• Saint Agatha, Catania (3-5 February): one of the largest religious festivals in the world. Devotees, dressed in the traditional white sacco, accompany the reliquary bust of the patron saint through the city. Read the story of Saint Agatha.

March-April

• Saint Joseph (19 March): in many towns Saint Joseph's "tables" are prepared, altars of decorated bread and food offered to the poor.
• Holy Week and Easter: the Mysteries of Trapani, the hooded brothers of Enna and many other rites. All details in Holy Week and Easter in Sicily.

May-June

• Saint Alfio, Trecastagni (9-10 May): on the slopes of Etna, during the "holy night", devotees known as the nudi arrive barefoot carrying large lit candles to fulfil a vow to the martyr saints Alfio, Philadelphus and Cyrinus.
• Saint Lucy, Syracuse (May): Syracuse also celebrates its patron saint in spring, as well as in December.
• Our Lady of the Letter, Messina (3 June): the feast of Messina's patron.

July-August

• Saint Pancras, Taormina (9 July): the feast of Taormina's first bishop according to tradition.
• Saint Rosalia, Palermo (14-15 July): the Festino, with the great triumphal cart through the city.
• Madonna di Dinnammare, Messina (3-4 August): a night procession on foot from the village of Larderia to the shrine on the summit, for Mass at dawn.
• The Vara, Messina (15 August): on the feast of the Assumption a huge votive cart is pulled by hand by thousands of faithful.
• Saint Agatha, Catania (17 August): the summer feast commemorating the return of the relics from Constantinople in 1126.
• Saint Elias the Younger (17 August): memorial of the monk of Enna who met his disciple Daniel in Taormina.
• Our Lady of Tears, Syracuse (29 August-1 September): anniversary of the weeping of 1953.

September-October

• Saint Rosalia, Monte Pellegrino (night of 3-4 September): the acchianata, the pilgrims' climb on foot from Palermo to the shrine.
• Madonna del Tindari (7-8 September): thousands of pilgrims, many on foot, climb to the shrine above the sea.
• Saint Hilarion the Great (21 October): memorial of the great hermit who lived hidden in Sicily. Read the story of Saint Hilarion.

November-December

• Saint Lucy, Syracuse (13 December): the patron's feast, with the silver statue carried in procession. All over Sicily people eat cuccìa. Read the story of Saint Lucy.
• Christmas: living nativity scenes in many towns and Christmas novenas with traditional songs.

Feasts of the Italo-Greek saints

Those who follow the calendar of Sicilian saints also venerated by the Orthodox may remember: Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (3-4 April), Saint Methodios (14 June), Saint Pancras (9 July), Saint Elias the Younger (17 August), Saint Hilarion (21 October), Saint Agatha (5 February) and Saint Lucy (13 December). Their stories are in Byzantine Sicily and the Italo-Greek saints.

Experiencing a feast as a pilgrim

A religious feast is first of all prayer: the Mass, the procession, the devotion of the people. Alongside the feasts, anyone who wishes for a day of silence and Christian friendship can join the spiritual days near Taormina.

Opening hours and access to places of worship and parks may change: it is best to check the official websites before going. Enter churches in silence and suitably dressed, without disturbing services.

How to take part

The days take place near Taormina, in Sicily. The places to visit are agreed together each time. There is no overnight stay: we share one day, and in the evening everyone returns to their own home. Hospitality has no price and does not depend on any offering: whoever comes is welcomed for who they are. Everyone contributes as they can: anyone who cannot leave anything is welcomed like everyone else, and takes part by giving a little of their time.

The days are reserved for Catholic and Orthodox Christians, because they are lived in shared prayer. To ask for a date, simply write to me on WhatsApp. The spirit of the days is told in the manifesto of hospitality.

If you would like to know what makes this mission possible, read The circle of love.

Explore the other pages

The days: Christian spiritual days in Sicily · The Philoxenia of Abraham · Spiritual search and finding yourself · Day retreat, silent retreat and pilgrimage: the international names

Spiritual travel in Sicily: Spiritual tourism in Sicily: the guide · Pilgrimage walking routes in Sicily · Holy Week and Easter in Sicily · Orthodox pilgrimage in Sicily · Spiritual Nordic walking and ski walking in Sicily

Nature and places: Spiritual Taormina · Spiritual walks in nature · Christian meditation in nature in Sicily · Places to meditate near Taormina and Messina · Places to meditate in Sicily

Prayer: Christian asceticism: the spiritual struggle · The prayer of the heart or Jesus Prayer · Hesychasm: the prayer of stillness · The Philokalia: the Neptic Fathers

The saints of Sicily: Byzantine Sicily and the Italo-Greek saints · Saint Hilarion the Great in Sicily · Saint Methodios of Syracuse · Saint Joseph the Hymnographer · Saint Elias the Younger of Enna · Saint Agatha of Catania · Saint Lucy of Syracuse · Saint Pancras of Taormina

Sources

• Avvenire – Agatha and Lucy, the bond of holiness between Catania and Syracuse
• Italian Ministry of Culture – Profile of Saint Lucy (PDF, Italian)
• University of Dayton, Marian Library – Tindari Shrine
• Wikivoyage – Trecastagni (Italian)
• Wikipedia – Monte Dinnammare
• Wikipedia – Pancras of Taormina
• Shrine of Our Lady of Tears, Syracuse (official site, Italian)