Good Friday Procession of Acquedolci

A deeply felt Sicilian Holy Week ritual

In Acquedolci, a small town in the province of Messina overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, Holy Week reaches its climax on Good Friday with one of the oldest and most evocative processions in the Nebrodi region. The ritual unites the entire Acquedolci community in a journey of devotion that winds through the town, marked by silence, prayer, and the slow, rhythmic movement of the sacred statues.

The Stations of the Cross and the procession

The day begins with the Stations of the Cross (Via Crucis), a devotional exercise celebrated every Friday throughout Lent, animated in turn by the various pastoral zones of the parish. On Good Friday, the Stations of the Cross accompany the stops of the main procession, during which three highly significant statues are carried on shoulders through the streets: the ancient wooden Crucifix, the Dead Christ, and Our Lady of Sorrows. The procession moves slowly in a spirit of contemplation, accompanied by the faithful and local confraternities.

The Marabitti Crucifix

The artistic and spiritual heart of the procession is the 17th-18th century wooden Crucifix, attributed to the great Palermitan sculptor Ignazio Marabitti, housed in the Mother Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Assumption. The Mother Church itself, a neoclassical structure with an imposing bell tower, also preserves a precious wax statue of the Sleeping Madonna, a testament to the richness of the town's devotional heritage. The presence of a work attributed to Marabitti, one of the greatest Sicilian sculptors of the 18th century, gives the procession a value that transcends the local dimension.

Acquedolci and its identity

Acquedolci is a young municipality—having gained autonomy in 1969 following the landslide that affected the nearby town of San Fratello—yet it possesses ancient roots, evidenced by the famous San Teodoro Cave and numerous rural churches in the area. The patron saint is Saint Benedict the Moor, celebrated on the first Sunday of August. Good Friday, alongside the patronal feast, represents one of the most defining moments for the local community, drawing residents, returning emigrants, and visitors eager to discover the traditions of the Nebrodi Sicily.