10 April 2024, the parishes of the III and IV Vicariate on pilgrimage to the Cathedral on the fourth centenary of the discovery of the body of Saint Rosalia

In recent months, the relics of the Patroness visit all the parishes of the six vicariates of the Archdiocese. The Archbishop: “Rosalia reminds us of today’s challenge, that of transmitting the faith to the new generations”

The parishes of the Archdiocese of Palermo continue to live the experience of the pilgrimage to the Cathedral to honor Saint Rosalia, 400 years after the discovery of her mortal remains. The “Rosalian Jubilee”, announced by the archbishop of Palermo Monsignor Corrado Lorefice for the fourth centenary of the event that saved the city from the plague, continues through the program defined by the Diocesan Committee and which involves the six Vicariates: the faithful of the parishes of the III and the IV Vicariate will go to the Cathedral on April 10th for the veneration of the relics of Santa Rosalia and the Eucharistic Concelebration presided over by the Archbishop, Monsignor Corrado Lorefice. From Porta Nuova a procession will leave at 6.00 pm to the Cathedral. Here, at the end of the Celebration, the Archbishop will entrust the reliquaries of St. Rosalia to the Episcopal Vicars which in the coming weeks will be housed in the parishes according to the calendar – from 11 April to 28 May – which will be prepared by the Vicars and the coordinating parish priests and disseminated via diocesan communication channels.

The animation of the liturgical songs for the Eucharistic celebration was entrusted to the choirs of the parishes of S. Michele, S. Luisa de Marillac and S. Giuseppe Cottolengo; the liturgical service will be carried out by the ministers established under the coordination of the diocesan Liturgical Office. The pilgrimage and the Eucharistic Celebration will be broadcast via live streaming on the channels of the Archdiocese (by the Diocesan Office for Social Communications-Press Office and the Diocesan Office for IT Services).

“Rosalia lived a life that still has much to tell us today – underlined Archbishop Mons. Corrado Lorefice in his homily – because she is a woman of unique relevance who reminds us of our Christian mandate, which is to liberate the hearts. Rosalia descends into the city and restores joy to a city crushed by evil, crushed by the plague; Rosalia brings the city back to her life. Today I rejoice with you because this is the reason why we thought of the Jubilee in the IV Centenary: not to hold gatherings or give life to a sequence of celebrations but because Rosalia is ready to go down to the city again to testify to us the primacy of faith, of relationship with God changing our lives. Rosalia gives us back the task of staying in the city, I say this for our children, for our grandchildren, for the children, for the young people. Today, as then, there is a need for a firm faith and Rosalia reminds us of the firm, radical faith: me, towards God; I, towards the dead and risen Son; I, towards the Spirit that I received in the Sacraments of Christian initiation; Can I give this primacy of love to God? And are our communities aware of what this time is telling us? Because if then it was the plague, today we have a challenge represented by the transmission of the faith to our children, to the new generations; we are running the risk of no longer knowing how to transmit the faith, of not making people understand what the presence of God means in the lives of young people. Sometimes we become fearful, indeed we run away from young people and deliver them into the hands of an infernal plague: fragility, loneliness, the fear that leads them to be manipulated, preyed upon, by false sellers of happiness”.