Fera of San Gandolfo in Polizzi Generosa

The patron saint of Polizzi Generosa, San Gandolfo, is celebrated on the third Sunday in September. The feast is anticipated by an octavary of preparation held in the Mother Church, at the end of which people go to the city gates to welcome the wooden simulacrum of the saint from the Hermitage. This is followed by the "Blessing of the Loaves" and a procession that carries the simulacrum along the streets of Polizzi Generosa, following the Lucernal Liturgy. The following day the Mass of the Eucharist is held in the Mother Church, after which a new and solemn procession begins, this time carrying the relic of the saint's entire body, transported inside a precious silver urn. The procession ends in Trinity Square with the blessing of the countryside. On Monday, the last procession begins, bringing the sacred relics back to the chapel, while the simulacrum is taken back to the hermitage with an evocative evening torchlight procession and the lighting of the "pagghiari"-that is, bonfires-in honor of Polizzi Generosa's patron saint.