Cappella dell'immacolata di porta Palermo - Termini Imerese

The Porta Palermo Chapel was built in the early 19th century, right next to the Porta a Palermo.

With the construction of the chapel, a city committee was also created that prepared the Feast of the Immaculate Conception by raising money for decorations and celebrations.

The original statue of the Immaculate Conception, which is still kept in the chapel outside Porta Palermo, was commissioned by engineer Indovina from glue, sober and beautiful cloth.

Thus began the first celebrations in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Porta Palermo, but soon the first processions were also held in the evenings with large crowds. This procession, like the one on the night of the Immaculate Conception of the Snows, also acquired evocative features. Since there was no electric light, the procession was lit by torches.

In 1922, due to the precarious state of the original statue, a statue was bought from the Cavaretta company of Lecce (after a careful restoration, this statue returned after some 28 years in procession through the streets of the city because it was considered beautiful and was considered miraculous).

In fact, the statue was soon covered by numerous votive offerings hanging from each side of the statue.
This last image was used until 1975 to be replaced by a third and final image by the Val Gardena company. This statue was built in an effort to stop having votive offerings attached to the statue, as the previous statue had been ruined by screwing eyelets on much of the statue. The then pastor managed to win this battle by releasing the image of Parta Palermo without a golden dress on December 8, 1978.

The last image was used for the procession on December 8, 2002.

In 2003, thanks to a careful restoration, both the original statue and the papier-mache statue from Lecce regained their former glory, with the original statue placed in the external chapel, which is visible to everyone every day, and the statue of paper mache from Lecce in the small room closed to everyone (this is in fact the statue now carried in procession).

The procession arose on a very special day and date . It was December 8, 1854, when Pius IX , with the bull Innefabilis Deus, proclaimed the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception , which states that the Virgin is immune from original sin from the first moment of her conception.

As soon as the news of the promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception got out, the citizens of Termitania poured into the streets, the bells rang in celebratory mood, and they went to the nearby chapel of Porta Palermo, took the statue and carried it in procession .

This is where the cult of the Immaculate Conception of Porta Palermo originated.

Willem Vandenameele