Saint Lucy Festival

An ancient devotion in the heart of the Etna region

In Aci Catena, a small town in the Province of Catania overlooking the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, the Saint Lucy Festival is much more than a liturgical recurrence: it is the moment when the entire community gathers around its martyr. Popular tradition traces the existence of a church dedicated to the virgin of Syracuse back to the 13th century in the Casazze district, but the first historical documentation of the festival dates back to 1666.

The statue and the relic

In that very year, on December 12th, a relic of the Saint — the martyr's finger — was carried in procession to the church to be set into the chest of the new statue, commissioned by Canon Francesco Strano and attributed to a skilled sculptor from the Messina area. Since then, every year on the eve of December 13th, the reliquary arm is carried in procession from the Mother Church to the church of which the Saint is the patron, commemorating that founding event.

The Church of Saint Lucy

The heart of the festival is the Church of Saint Lucy, a building with a simple, light-colored facade featuring a portal and a large window in lava stone, connected to the street level by a harmonious lava stone staircase. Inside, it houses a splendid wooden coffered ceiling decorated with floral motifs and important works by Pietro Paolo Vasta (1697-1760) and his son Alessandro, including frescoes, a Last Supper, and canvases dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and the Trinity.

The festival rites

The celebrations begin at the first light of December 1st with the tolling of the bell, the so-called cunsulatu, which announces the solemnity. This is followed by the novena of preparation, which is widely attended by the faithful. On the evening of the eve, December 12th, the relics cross the city streets in a suggestive procession in which devotees in votive habits take part, especially the "Lucie", young girls with small lit lamps in their hands, a living image of the Saint's very name.

December 13th

On the day of the festival, at 4:00 PM sharp, the statue solemnly exits the Church of Saint Lucy and is welcomed on the churchyard by the jubilation of the faithful, amidst the release of balloons and ribbons, the firing of fireworks, and the ringing of bells. The solemn procession then begins along the streets of Aci Catena, ending late in the evening with the return of the statue to its chapel. It is the most anticipated moment of the year for the town, where faith, folklore, and identity merge into a single popular celebration.