Feast of Saint Blaise

A devotion that has endured for centuries

On February 3rd, the day the Church remembers Saint Blaise, a bishop and martyr who lived between the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Church of Santa Teresa in Nardò (province of Lecce, Puglia) becomes the center of one of the most deep-rooted religious traditions in Salento. The feast has nothing spectacular or folkloric in the common sense of the term: it is an intimate, popular, and deeply felt rite that draws a continuous stream of worshippers of all ages to the church every year.

The blessing of the throat

The heart of the day is the blessing of the throat. The priest crosses two candles over the throat of each worshipper, reciting the traditional formula: «Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, Bishop and Martyr, may God deliver you from throat ailments and every other evil». The gesture evokes the most famous episode in the saint's life, who according to tradition saved a child choking on a fish bone stuck in his throat. This gave rise to Saint Blaise's patronage over throat diseases, a cult that has ancient roots in Nardò: the saint was invoked against diphtheria, which struck the city hard in past centuries.

The Church of Santa Teresa

The celebration takes place in the Church of Santa Teresa, a short distance from the historic center of Nardò. Inside, it houses a wooden statue of the saint dating back to the late 19th century, a destination for the devotion of the local people. The organization of the feast has long been entrusted to the Confraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament, which also organizes the preparatory triduum in the days leading up to February 3rd.

A feast for families and children

Saint Blaise in Nardò is above all a family feast. Many parents bring their little ones to receive the blessing, in a rite that unites popular faith, collective memory, and the community's identity. In recent years, the Confraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament, together with the Diocese of Nardò-Gallipoli and the Municipality of Nardò, has sought to strengthen the educational dimension of the event, involving local schools and distributing materials designed to help children understand the meaning of the gesture.

When to go

The feast is always celebrated on February 3rd, the liturgical day of Saint Blaise. The blessing of the throat begins in the morning, after the first mass, and continues throughout the day until evening, with a break in the mid-afternoon. No reservation is needed: anyone can enter the church and join the queue to receive the blessing.