Every year, after January 6, Italians like to say that Epiphany “takes all the holidays away.” In reality, it doesn’t. It only takes a few days before the calendar fills up again with new events and new observances. This year, among the first was January 29, when Catania marked the 900th anniversary of the return of the relics of Saint Agatha, the city’s patron saint, from Constantinople.
The faithful retraced a penitential pilgrimage, starting at the church of Sant’Agata la Vetere, the city’s first cathedral, and continuing through the places connected to her martyrdom. The route included stops at the Shrine of Sant’Agata al Carcere and at Sant’Agata alla Fornace, before ending at the Cathedral for a penitential liturgy celebrated by the Archbishop.
