THE annual Festival of the Three Saints at Holy Cross Church, Wooloowin on May 1 attracted people from as far as Bundaberg and the Gold Coast.
The festival, hosted by the Italian Catholic community of Brisbane, follows a tradition of honouring three bothers, Sts Alfio, Fidalfo and Cirino, who were martyred for their faith in Lentini, Italy, on May 10, 253 AD.
This tradition has been handed down for centuries in the villages of eastern Sicily.
Secretary of the festival organising committee, Guido Canale, said about 2000 people attended last Sunday’s celebrations, which featured a procession through the streets around the church.
Statues of the three saints were carried in the procession, creating great interest among residents of the neighbourhood.
Australian provincial leader of the Scalabrinian Fathers, Fr Paolo Prigol, was principal celebrant at a Mass marking the feast.
