ANNUAL
WORSHIPS
Novena to Saint
Rita of Casia
Thousands of people gather every May 22nd, after celebrating their novena, to attend the solemnity of Saint Rita of Casia, advocate of impossible causes and desperate cases, and thus fulfill a long tradition that has deep roots in Compostela.
Throughout the day, stalls selling roses, doughnuts, votive offerings and candles cover the entire square, to satisfy the enormous demand of believers of all ages.
This is a festivity with great tradition in the city, where there is special affection for the saint of Casia, who died in the 15th century and was canonized in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII, the same Pope who in 1884 accepted the authenticity of Santiago the Apostle's relics in the bull Deus Omnipotens.
The tradition of the white and red roses comes from the fact that when the Saint was ill and close to death, at her request she was presented with some roses that had sprouted prodigiously during the cold winter in the family garden in her hometown, Rocaporena, in the Italian region of Umbria. Roses that are said to still bloom today in this town.
Source: The Galician Mail and COPE Galicia
Novena to the
Sacred heart
This is a novena of great devotion in the capital of Santiago de Compostela that ends eight days after Corpus Christi with the celebration of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On that day, the Eucharist is followed by a procession of the image of the Sacred Heart through the streets of the historic centre, accompanied by a representation of the different brotherhoods of the city.
