Holy Week – Rites of the Passion

The 2025 edition of the Passion rites in Vico del Gargano reached its peak on Good Friday, April 18th. The day began at dawn in the Mother Church with Lauds and the "Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows", traditionally accompanied by women. This was followed by the penitential processions of the Confraternities towards the twelve churches, with the singing of the Miserere, and the celebration of the Agony in the Church of Purgatory, guardian of the Stauroteca. In the afternoon, the "Messa Pazza" took place, and in the evening, the great unique procession with Our Lady of Sorrows and the Dead Christ crossed the village amidst the chants of the brothers and the people.

Good Friday — April 18, 2025

• 7:30 AM — Lauds in the Mother Church followed by the "Procession of Our Lady of Sorrows" accompanied by women.
• From 8:00 AM — Penitential processions of the Confraternities towards the twelve churches, with the singing of the "Miserere" and the "Pange lingua gloriosi".
• 3:00 PM — Celebration of the "Agony" (the seven words of Jesus on the Cross) in the Church of Purgatory, which houses the Stauroteca, a relic of the Cross.
• From 5:00 PM — Liturgy of the Passion and Adoration of the Cross, the "Messa Pazza".
• 7:00 PM — In a single procession, the Confraternities and the people carry the Our Lady of Sorrows from the Mother Church and the Dead Christ; after the last cross, "Evviva la Croce" is sung. In Piazza Castello, the Confraternity of the Cinturati of Saint Augustine and Saint Monica accompanies the Dead Christ to the Church of San Giuseppe, while the other Confraternities return with the Madonna to the Mother Church.