Festival of Saint Lucia on the Verrino River

A Centuries-Old Pilgrimage on the Verrino River

On the first Sunday of June, the small rural church of Saint Lucia, located on the right bank of the Verrino River on the border between Castelverrino and Agnone, is the destination of a pilgrimage that gathers thousands of faithful from all over Alto Molise. The church, dating back to the 13th-14th century, was once an abbey: diocesan archives in Trivento document abbatial appointments starting from 1510, and a document from 1775 confirms its status.

Rites of the Miraculous Water

The pilgrimage is marked by ancient rites: the kissing of the statue of the saint with offerings, the anointing of the eyes, and their washing with the water from the Zelluso valley, considered miraculous and linked to the devotion for Saint Lucia, protector of sight. At noon, an open-air mass is celebrated, followed by a procession around the church and fireworks on the riverbed. The day concludes with a picnic under the trees, in an atmosphere of popular celebration and strong spirituality.

Devotion in Alto Molise

The pilgrimage is attended by faithful from Agnone, Castelverrino, Schiavi d'Abruzzo, Castiglione Messer Marino, Belmonte del Sannio, Poggio Sannita, Pietrabbondante, and other nearby locations. It is one of the most heartfelt and identity-defining traditions of Alto Molise, in the province of Isernia, capable of uniting communities from two regions around a place of worship immersed in nature.