On 13 June 2024, they will be held in the municipality of Piraino the celebrations in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua. The event will begin in the morning at 8 am, when the church bells will announce the start of the celebration, accompanied from the famous firing of firecrackers.
The Holy Mass will begin at 10am, and the distribution of bread in honor of the saint. In the late afternoon, starting from 6 pm, the procession in honor of Saint Anthony of Padua will take place through the streets of the town, which will end at 8 pm in Piazza Padre Nici, with the Eucharistic celebration for the end of the year pastoral care and the priest’s blessing of all the children present. Finally, still in Piazza Padre Nici, it will take place at 9pm the musical evening with “DJ Fradan”, and the craft market.
Anthony of Padua was born in Portugal on 15 August 1195 and is one of the best-known figures in the history of the Church, proclaimed a saint by Pope Gregory IX in 1232. His fame is mainly due to the fact of having been one of Francis of Assisi’s chosen oneswho convinced him to go on a mission to France in order to counter the spread of the heretical Cathar movement.
The construction of the great Basilica of Padua was dedicated to him, the city where he is simply known as “The Saint”, and his feast falls every year on June 13th, as this it is the official date of his death. And from the first days following his passing, the city immediately became a destination for pilgrimages of the most devout Catholics who in the early years had the habit to go to his tomb and touch his sarcophagus asking for a miracle for them and their loved ones.
