About 500 years after the noble hermit Rosalia died in an isolated mountain cave, a plague took over nearby Palermo. In a vision, she appeared to a hunter working the woods and guided him to uncover her long-forgotten body, as well as this message she’d carved into the wall: “I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ.” The hunter brought her bones down to the city, where they were paraded through the streets until the plague ended.
In 1939, Sicilian immigrants to Boston formed a society to throw a parade for Rosalia on her feast day, a tradition that continues today. Today’s photo is from their 2013 celebration.