WTI Magazine #35    2014 June, 18
Author : folclore.it      Translation by:

Messina, a city rich in history and centuries-old religious traditions, each year renews its great devotion and the moving tribute to one of the world's most beloved saints, St. Anthony of Padua, the saint of miracles.

Every year in June, Messina welcomes a huge number of faithful who parade before the image of St. Anthony of Padua, in the Basilica dedicated to the saint. It is estimated that about 100,000 faithful gather, from early morning until late at night, to express a heartfelt homage to the saint.

The Sunday of the event, the procession draws thousands of faithful who follow the statue of the saint, decorated with votive gold and flowers, over a sphere representing the world, surrounded by children dressed as sailors on a wagon 6 meters high: the triumphal chariot of St. Anthony, which runs through the entire city, driven by barefoot men and women, dressed in the Franciscan habit, weeping with emotion and remembrance for the grace received and the joy of being able to honor the saint.

This devotion was spread by Saint Hannibal Mary Di Francia, from Messina, whose body lies in the same Basilica, who is also responsible for the foundation of the Shrine and Orphanage named after Anthony and for the distribution of blessed bread rolls, precisely called St. Anthony's bread.

Saint Hannibal spread the love for St. Anthony with all the available means: even today the devotion to the latter is carried out in a "blaze of faith and extraordinary concourse of people" during the celebrations and the procession of the Chariot. The first great procession took place in 1907, while in 1946 came the actual wagon that is still used today, with just few modifications.