CRUCIFIX CELEBRATION

On 3 May, the Christ is carried in procession to the sanctuary, accompanied by the Addolorata, all the way outside the town.
It is the festival of picnics, outdoor lunches, and… let’s be honest, a bit of merrymaking as well.

Then, in September (the feast is set for the third Sunday of the month), the priests and the brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem climb up to the sanctuary to bring the statue back to the town district.

Part of the clergy arrives at the sanctuary eight days earlier, staying for the liturgical functions and the confessions of hundreds of pilgrims and devotees, who come from afar on pious pilgrimages. On the day of the descent with the Christ, another procession, carrying the Addolorata, sets out to meet them.

The procession includes town authorities in clerical robes, the remaining clergy, hundreds of girls with lavish offerings, and children dressed as little angels carrying the instruments of the Passion. All proceed in orderly formation to meet the other procession coming down from the mountain, joining together on a plain outside the town.