Santuario dello Spirito Santo

Santuario dello Spirito Santo

  • Anteprima

Santuario dello Spirito Santo

The origin of the Sanctuary is very ancient. The legend says that here arose a shrine entitled to the Holy Spirit, in which was situated a rock with a painted image of the Eternal Father with a dove on his chest. During the iconoclasm this painting was buried underground and remained forgotten for long time, until a deaf and dumb farmer, digging a water well, found the rock with the painting. He noticed with surprise the representation and noticed some blood dripping from a lesion on the rock in correspondence of the eye brow. Astonished by the discovery, he ran towards the village, leaving the citizens who heard him speak amazed. Afterwards they rushed to the place and by the advice of the parish priest and the authorities, they decided to carry the sacred rock inside the village using oxen, but the animals could not move it.

Thus was born the idea of erecting a temple on the spot with the help of all the people. History indicates instead that here there was a niche with a painting of Christ Pantocrator similar to Cefalu one (discovered in 1985). Later it was built a church dedicated to Santa Caterina from Alexandria by engulfing the shrine which became the apse of the church. Only in 1576 the small church undergone an architectural transformation and assumed the title "of the Holy Spirit". During the XVIII century other interventions led to the definition of the church and, in the XIX century, to the construction of the side chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Providence. Inside the church are kept frescoes of the Holy Spirit made by Crispino Riggio and Tommaso Pollace. Soon the church became a place for devotees and pilgrimage and still today it's made a very participatory celebration in the day after the Pentecost. Currently the church of the Holy Spirit is the Jubilee Shrine.

Culture
Spirituality
History and Archaeology
Place
Gangi
Recommended seasons
Autumn | Spring | Summer | Winter

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