The Confraternity Maria Santissima of Trapani, in Messina, as per the attached program, is committed to preparing one of the most evocative and ancient city processions, which will take place Sunday 16 June in honor of the Madonna Maria SS. of Trapani.
An ancient custom – which has continued uninterruptedly up to the present day – is reported by the eighteenth-century historian Caio Domenico Gallo. However, in all likelihood, it dates back to an older era. An important influx of crowds, coming largely from the city of Messina, as well as from the suburban districts, already used to head towards the venerated Sanctuary of the Madonna on the second Sunday after Easter, when the solemn celebrations in honor of the Virgin were held (this Sunday 6 May). Following the departure of the Capuchins, the sacred building had experienced a period of decline, only to return to its full splendor in the second half of the seventeenth century, thanks to Father Saverio Amato, who made it an important center of monastic worship which they part of many monasteries and hermitages founded by him in the surroundings of Messina. In fact, all the hermits used to gather during the holidays at the Sanctuary of the Madonna, recognizing its authority as the “Mother House”.
