#119 A reflection on Patron Saints
Hello friend,
I am a big fan of patron Saint celebrations in Sicily, followed closely by food festivals, celebrating valuable food and cultural traditions unique to the island. Like the elaborate religious Easter possessions throughout Spain to the day of the dead in Mexico, a Sicilian Saint day is filled with intense emotion, fanfare, colour, loud brass backs and often fireworks.
Hundreds of patron saints are paraded on elaborate floats; every statue is a unique work of art and a celebration of the devotion of people who carry or pull the elaborate Saint Day traditions and precessions.
Some of the more devout in Saint day celebrations will be dressed in costumes, and others are all in white in a kind of religious uniform, often barefoot. There are so many symbols of devotion; some costumes seem bizarre as their origins and meanings have been lost through the centuries. A Sicilian Festa just hits differently; they are something special.
This year, on the 8th of May, the Saint Day celebration of Saint Leo in my small town of Sinagra was rained out. So the celebration has been postponed by a week.
Saint Leo is also celebrated in Longi and other parts of Italy. This Saint was taken overseas to Australia, where his statue resides at Kalamunda, Western Australia. These days, older people are slowly dying out and can no longer celebrate the tradition.
New generations of Italo Australians have no real connection to the tradition, so these processions and celebrations are slowly disappearing. As the tradition fades in Perth, Australia, Saint Leo is towed by an automated vehicle, and not many people are there to witness the parade.
At Sinagra, Sicily, the celebration is very much alive. For example, this year, despite having to delay the festival, hundreds of people attended the procession and mass at the main church of Saint Michael the Archangel.
Saint Leo is carried upon the shoulders by many young men and older men who are part of the association of Saint Leo, who are responsible for transporting the Saint, maintaining the statue and collecting any offerings that people may have made in the name of the Saint.
I'm happy to say that the celebration at Sinagra will not fade away as every generation who lives, works and populates this town participates in the Saint's feast day.
The 8th of May begins with early morning cannon firing, which greets the day of the Saint. Often, I am woken up by these loud, explosive noises.
There are no fireworks, just booming cannon sounds to remind us that the day is dedicated to Saint Leo, which can be frightening if you forget that it is actually the 8th of May.
I've lost count of the number of times I have forgotten and made myself jump out of my skin after hearing the random boom in the morning. Like a frightened pigeon, I instantly flutter before remembering they are for the patron saint’s day. This happened this morning because, in fact, it is the 12th of May, after the postponement of the celebration from last Sunday.
This year, all the Sunday masses here at Sinagra were held in the main parish church after the 11 o'clock mass. The Saint was taken out of the church, walked down the side streets, and threw the Piazza in its possession. Then it stops for a few hours, perhaps the time for everyone to have lunch with their family.
Saint Leo rests in the tiny medieval church via Umberto Prima for a few hours in the afternoon. The Chiesa del Convento is where I usually go to early-morning Sunday mass, but today, I realised I had never gone when Saint Leo is having his little procession pausa.
So today, I walked down to the end of my street and sat briefly with Saint Leo. It was remarkable to have a quiet moment of reflection and prayer while sitting close to this life-size statue of a great Sicilian saint.
Actually, Saint Leo was born in Ravenna in northern Italy. Still, it is said that during his lifetime, he travelled throughout Italy, ending up in Sicily, and spent much time in the countryside helping the poor and infirm. It is said that he even spent time in and around Sinagra during a period of self-imposed exile before being asked to become Bishop of Catania.
I have always been fascinated by the stories of the Saints in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is fascinating to hear the wide variety of stories surrounding the miracles and lives of these very real physical people who seem to be transformed into these heavenly messengers that act as a link between God and.
Even today, catechists teach the local children here in Sicily, but they still say that the Saints. I like our special friends who listen to our prayers and intercede with God to ensure our prayers are heard.
The idea that these exceptional, miraculous humans are there to connect us to God is probably one of the most fascinating stories to hear. It is a powerful mythology, theology and otherworldly belief.
Together with the endless stories from the lives of the Saints, this epic catholic form of iconographic mythology seeks to teach us how to be good, selfless, stoic, loving and forgiving people.
Above all, if we give ourselves to God or turn towards the spiritual side of life, it will, in turn, nurture us and give us a purpose in life, which is ultimately one of the most potent and enduring messages that we can follow in a life which ultimately is concerned with more earthly things. Teaching love, forgiveness and poverty is positively revolutionary when our culture feeds on fear, ambition and wealth.
So, as I sat next to St Leo's statue, I gave thanks for the privilege of witnessing this tradition and for the beautiful spring day and offered up a few personal prayers, thoughts, and concerns.
Hopefully, St Leo has heard them, too.
All the best from Sicily
Rochelle
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