Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel

A devotion born from the Norman Middle Ages

In Cerami, a village of just over two thousand inhabitants perched at 970 meters on the Caronie hills, at the foot of Monte dell'Annunziata in the heart of the Nebrodi, the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is more than just a religious anniversary: it is the living memory of an event that changed the history of Sicily. The cult of the Saint stems from the 1063 Battle of Cerami, when the Norman troops led by Count Roger of Hauteville defeated the Saracens in a decisive clash for the Christian reconquest of the island. According to tradition, the soldiers invoked the protection of Saint George and Saint Michael, and after the victory, the Count had a church dedicated to the Archangel built at the foot of the castle, following a "luminous vision" he experienced during the battle.

The Archconfraternity and the statue by Filippo Quattrocchi

The Archconfraternity of Saint Michael the Archangel, which still guards and organizes the feast today, dates back to 1070. The most precious treasure of Cerami's devotion is the 18th-century wooden statue of the Saint, a masterpiece by the Sicilian sculptor Filippo Quattrocchi of Gangi (1738-1813), one of the island's finest woodcarvers. The sculpture is now kept in the Mother Church, dedicated to Saint Ambrose, as the ancient church near the castle became unusable after the 1910 cholera epidemic and subsequent war damage.

The external feast in May

While the liturgical feast of the Archangel falls on September 29, the external feast in Cerami is traditionally celebrated on the penultimate Saturday of May. Celebrations begin days in advance with a novena and the recitation of the Angelic Crown in the Mother Church. On the day of the feast, the village wakes to the sound of firecrackers and church bells, while the solemn procession begins in the late afternoon: the confreres, in traditional attire and carrying the insignia of the confraternity, carry the statue of the Saint on their shoulders through the village streets, accompanied by the devotion of the entire Cerami community.

Cerami, province of Enna

The feast of Saint Michael is the most deeply felt of the many religious events in the calendar of Cerami, a town in the province of Enna nestled in a landscape rich in oak trees and Mediterranean scrub. For those visiting inland Sicily, it is a precious opportunity to discover an authentic corner of the Nebrodi and a devotional tradition that has been passed down for nearly a thousand years.