Madonna del Porto - Sciacca

This statue is a copy of Sciacca's Madonna del Soccorso.

It was placed in the port of Sciacca to seal the pact between the fishermen and the Madonna to protect them day and night during fishing trips.

The Virgin Mary of Help is the main patron saint of Sciacca . Her festival, which is a centuries-old devotion involving thousands of believers and attracts many visitors, takes place at two different times of the year: February 2 and August 15.

Belief in the Madonna has centuries-old traditions. The statue, 1 meter and 65 centimeters high, weighs 700 kilos and was commissioned in June 1503 by the friars of San Barnaba in gratitude for a number of miracles they had performed and for appearing to various people in dreams.
In the first two decades of the 17th century, the plague raged in Sicily as it did in the rest of Europe. In Sciacca, which had fewer than nine thousand inhabitants, 500 children died in two months. To try to find a solution and contain this plague, several representatives of the clergy and the people gathered in the Mother Church on February 2, 1626 . After a report on the sad state of the city, it was decided to invoke Mary Most Holy and solemnly swear to honor her every year . So from the church of St Barnabas, now St Augustine, the statue was carried in procession through the streets of the city. In a clear, cloudless sky, lightning was seen, a miracle was proclaimed, and the plague ceased.

The protagonists of the celebration are the sailors of Sciacca . It was they who, in 1504 , brought the very heavy statue weighing several tons in their boats from Palermo to Sciacca and then brought it to the church of S. Barnaba. Once in port, they were met by a festive and appreciative crowd, who greeted them with applause and cheers.

As a sign of gratitude, they were given the privilege of leading the procession . The procession, accompanied by the traditional symphonic marches of the brass band, is very demanding and includes 17 stops , each with strong commemorative value and spiritual significance. During one of the stops , the miracle is re-enacted with the scene of the white smoke, a very evocative moment charged with a strong spirituality.

Between the two main streets of the medieval old town, which is characterized by noble palaces, the miraculous simulacrum is carried proudly and laboriously on the shoulders of some 100 barefoot sailors . Faith, tradition and folklore are elements that characterize the festivities. Ancient rituals include the descent, dressing the Madonna in gold and coral donated by the faithful, and the ascent to the main altar.

Willem Vandenameele