Bagheria – Saint Joseph’s Day

Bagheria – Saint Joseph’s Day

Throughout Sicily the celebrations in honor of St. Joseph have a very important role; implemented with different ways of carrying out, They are all aimed at highlighting the deep faith that binds the faithful to the Saint.

In Bagheria (PA) devotion – especially felt – underlines the strong contraints of the tradition that, sedimented in the course of time, still constitute a complex symbolic apparatus.
The Saint is at the center of the celebrations twice a year: on March 19th and in the summer (early August).
The protagonist of the evening of March 19, on the occasion of the Feast of St. Joseph, is surely the fire, a present element in many Sicilian rites that remembers how paganism and Christianity coexist with the assumption of the sacred.
The fascination that springs from the tongues of fire goes beyond the rational explanation that it encloses.
The party that everyone is looking forward to is “a festa ranni” what is happening in the summer. Because the festivities organized during the three days are really great, initiatives aimed at involving all the generational components of the community.
Among the most anticipated moments are the horse race, yhe procession in honor of the Patron Saint, the musical band, the fireworks “jochi i focu” and the lights. The ranni feast can not be so without the most anticipated event: the procession of the Saint with the angels of the Lord. Unlike other Sicilian centers, Bagheria celebrates St. Joseph in a special way. The Saint runs the streets with the Child in his arms, followed by the procession and devotees.
The silence aroused by the apparition is broken by the invocation addressed to the Saint’s simulacrum: “Stop Joseph, stop and listen to my prayer“.