Discover the story behind this interesting Easter procession in Abruzzo, which takes place on Easter Sunday…
Members of the fraternity of St. Mary of Loreto carry the statue of the Virgin Mary through the streets of Sulmona in Abruzzo during an Easter procession.
This unusual Easter procession in Sulmona, Abruzzo, is called ‘La Madonna che scappa’ – ‘the running Madonna’.
It’s so named because it requires the participants to run to the statue of the resurrected Christ while carrying the Virgin on their shoulders.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the square – and you can just make them out among the clouds to the right of Mary’s skirts in the photo above – twelve doves are released into the air.
You’d think that most people would ignore the doves, given the spectacle of the running Madonna taking place right before them, but the release of the doves is actually the interesting bit, because the direction the birds take provides omens that predict the quality of the coming summer’s harvest.
But that’s not the only way this annual ritual predicts the outcome of the year. It’s said that if the ‘running Madonna’ procession goes smoothly, the year will too.
On the other hand, if something goes wrong with the procession, misfortunes are on the horizon. If the statue of the Madonna falls, expect disaster.
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Photo © TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images