Patronal Feast of Saint Blaise

The patron saint of Rubiera

The Patronal Feast of Saint Blaise is the most heartfelt civil and religious event of the year for Rubiera, a lively town on the Via Emilia in the province of Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna. Saint Blaise, a doctor and bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, suffered martyrdom during the persecutions of Christians around 316 AD and is venerated as one of the fourteen auxiliary saints. He is the protector of the throat and is celebrated every year on February 3rd, the day when the Rubiera community gathers around its patron saint.

Celebrations in the parish church

The heart of the feast is the Parish Church of Saints Donnino and Blaise, a 18th-century building located in the southern part of the historic center and remodeled at the beginning of the 20th century, with a small apse surmounted by the bell tower and documentary references dating back to 1302. Here, on the patron saint's day, the parish annually organizes solemn liturgical celebrations: the Holy Mass in honor of Saint Blaise represents the central moment of the recurrence for the faithful and for the city authorities.

The tradition of the throat blessing

The most characteristic rite of the feast is the blessing of the throat. According to tradition, Saint Blaise miraculously saved a child who was choking on a fishbone stuck in his throat, thus becoming the intercessor against throat and respiratory ailments. For this reason, at the end of the liturgy, the priest blesses the faithful by crossing two candles under each person's chin, an ancient gesture still widely participated in today.

A feast that stops the city

In Rubiera, devotion to Saint Blaise is so deeply rooted that it marks the civil calendar: February 3rd is the patron saint's holiday and a day when city schools are closed, with classes resuming the following day. It is a concrete sign of how much the recurrence belongs to the community's identity, far beyond the strictly religious dimension, involving families, associations, and the municipal administration.

Rubiera and its historic village

The feast is also an opportunity to discover Rubiera on a winter day. Founded as the ancient Corte de Herberia at the ford of the Secchia river, the town preserves the Fortress, a mighty fortress built around 1190, and the 15th-century Corte Ospitale, built to provide rest for travelers and pilgrims and now home to important theatrical productions. Walking through the historic center on the patron saint's day means capturing the most authentic soul of this village in the Reggio Emilia plain.