Feast of Saint Leo the Bishop (Patron Saint of Rometta)

In 2025, the Feast of Saint Leo the Bishop, patron saint of Rometta (Messina), was celebrated as tradition dictates on February 20th. The days of celebration featured the novena of preparation at the Mother Church of Santa Maria Assunta, the solemn Eucharistic celebration, and the procession of the saint's wooden statue, carried on shoulders through the streets of the medieval village amidst the devotion of the faithful. The event reaffirms the deep bond between the Rometta community and its protector, the hermit who, according to tradition, lived in prayer in a cave in the Peloritani Mountains valley.