Rare Procession Of Sword Of St. Michael

April 13, 2020

From il timone:

On Palm Sunday , in the small Apulian town of Monte Sant’Angelo, which houses the sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo, a pilgrimage destination for centuries, an event of great impact took place both in terms of faith and history: the blessing of the city, of Italy and of the world against the Coronavirus with the sword of the one who is called the “supreme head of the celestial army” , together with the Blessed Sacrament and a relic of the Holy Cross, a gift from Frederick II returning from Crusade of 1228.

Historically, to find a similar event it is necessary to go back almost 400 years, to 1656 , when the plea with the sword of San Michele had arisen against the spread of the plague on the occasion of the fourth appearance of the Archangel on Monte Gargano, by then bishop Giovanni Alfonso Puccinelli. Usually, in fact, the sword is extracted from the display case and carried in procession only on September 29, the day on which the Feast of San Michele and the Archangels Gabriele and Raffaele occurs.