Sanctuary of San Calogero Al Monte – Sciacca
San Calogero was born in Calcedonia, Asia Minor, settled in Sicily during the persecutions and devoted himself to the preaching and the care of the sick people. The Holy Hermit lived in several caves until he settled in Sciacca, on the cave of the Kronio, where he remained until his death.
The Sanctuary dates back to the late 1400s when the few monks of San Calogero set up some rooms for them on the Kronio and returned definitively to the cave of the Holy. The construction of the Sanctuary began in 1530 by Bishop Mariano Manno and replaced the old little church. It was inaugurated in 1644. On the central altar is venerated the statue of San Calogero, opera by Antonello and Giacomo Gagini, of 1538, placed in an elegant 1700 wooden enclosure. The statue was commissioned in 1535 by the chaplain Don Antonino Bruno to Antonello Gagini of Palermo. It was delivered in 1538 by Giacomo Gagini, in his own name and his father Antonello who died in 1536. The work remained incomplete, since, as a contract, it must also have the archer who injured the deer.
The Saint is depicted in hermit’s dress, with a bible in hand and a deer to the side, with rich gold decorations. The face of San Calogero is full of intense serenity. On the left side of the Sanctuary begins the sacred street leading to the cave of San Calogero, a destination for pilgrimages.
Significant Festivities: Last Tuesday of the month procession of the relics of St. Calogero to the Grotto, 18 June liturgical feast of St. Calogero. The feast in honor of St. Calogero is celebrated annually on on Tuesday of Pentecost. For the inhabitants of Sciacca is the opportunity to renew their devotion to the Saint. They go in procession through the streets of the village until they reach the Sanctuary on Mount San Calogero. A Community act, celebrated at dawn, starting from the Mother Church over a distance of 7-8 km, the distance that separates Sciacca from Mount Kronio; many faithful walk barefoot.