Editorial photo #8813730 Religion and Belief

Feast Of The Madonna Of The Martyrs In Molfetta

Fishing boats at the end of the sea festival of the Madonna dei Martiri Molfetta on 8 September 2022. After three years the feast of the Madonna dei Martiri returns to Molfetta. It unfolds in moments that combine celebration, devotion and folklore that culminate in the day of 8 September, entirely dedicated to the Madonna of the Martyrs, amidst lights and stalls of articles and gastronomic products. We therefore retrace the history that accompanies the cult of the icon through a series of rituals, which start in the morning with a solemn mass of the bishop and continue during the afternoon with the transport by the sailors of the statue of the Madonna, which thus leaves the Basilica. and is placed on a fishing boat flanked by two other boats that act as "bridesmaids" and host civil and religious authorities and various devout inhabitants. In the evening, the statue is disembarked on the quay of San Domenico, from where the procession that will bring the Statue of the Madonna of the Martyrs to the Cathedral and finally the statue to its Basilica, after a short stay in the Cathedral of Molfetta, starts. (Photo by Davide Pischettola/NurPhoto)