Saint Joseph Summer Festival (July)

The summer feast of Saint Joseph in Riesi

In the heart of central Sicily, in the municipality of Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, devotion to Saint Joseph is renewed twice a year. Alongside the liturgical feast on March 19th, the Riesi community maintains a purely summer celebration, which falls every year on the last Sunday of July. It is an event deeply rooted in the town's identity, drawing families, returning emigrants, and devotees from neighboring towns into the streets of the historic center.

A day of popular devotion

The festival is announced from the early hours of the morning by the firing of 19 firecrackers and the festive ringing of bells, a traditional signal that kicks off the day's celebrations. The atmosphere remains charged throughout the day, in anticipation of the moment most awaited by the population: the evening procession.

At dusk, civil and religious authorities, members of the festival committee, and the bearers set off from the Mother Church of Maria SS. della Catena, accompanied by the town band, to reach the scenic Church of Saint Joseph. From there, around 7:30 PM, the exquisite statue of the Saint emerges to be carried in procession.

The procession and the entrustment of the city

The religious parade accompanies the statue of Saint Joseph to the Mother Church, where the Saint pays homage to the Madonna della Catena, patron saint of Riesi, before the celebration of the solemn Mass. The festivities continue with a long procession through the city streets, the act of entrusting the city to the Saint, and conclude with the unmissable fireworks display that illuminates the summer sky of Riesi.

• Morning firing of 19 firecrackers and bell ringing
• Evening procession of the statue from the Church of Saint Joseph to the Mother Church
• Homage to the Madonna della Catena, patron saint of Riesi
• Solemn Mass and act of entrusting the city to the Saint
• Final fireworks display

Between tradition and community

The summer feast of Saint Joseph is clearly distinct from the spring celebration on March 19th, which in Sicily is linked to traditional banquet tables and votive breads: the July edition maintains a more exquisitely processional and communal character, experienced in the heart of the Sicilian summer. It is part of the rich devotional calendar of Riesi, which throughout the year also celebrates Holy Week with its evocative processions, the Carnival, and the great patronal feast of the Madonna della Catena on the second Sunday of September.