South 9th Street Italian Market Festival

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    • Procession of Saints
    • Entertainment
    • Halfball Tournament
    • Grease Pole
    • Fit Zone
    • B101 Kids Zone
    • Artisan Vendors
    • Festival Fundraiser Dinner
  • Map
  • Sponsors
  • Exhibit
  • Press
  • Home
  • Events
    • Procession of Saints
    • Entertainment
    • Halfball Tournament
    • Grease Pole
    • Fit Zone
    • B101 Kids Zone
    • Artisan Vendors
    • Festival Fundraiser Dinner
  • Map
  • Sponsors
  • Exhibit
  • Press

Due to the current situation with Covid-19, the City of Philadelphia has canceled all large scale public events until 2021. The proposed 2021 dates for the S. 9th Street Italian Market Festival are May 22 and 23. We thank you for your support of the S. 9th Street Italian Market Festival. We look forward to celebrating with you in 2021.

Procession of Saints

Sunday Event

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Sunday
11 am to Noon


The Traditional St. Paul Parish Procession of Saints
 
Father John Large leads this year's procession, which has long been a customary part of the annual parish May celebration
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Saint Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi Church, School, and Orphanage c. 1906
The Procession of Saints starts at the historic Saint Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi Church (712 Montrose St.), and pauses for the Blessing of the Market at 9th and Washington. The procession concludes at St. Paul Catholic Church (808 S. Hutchinson, on Christian St. between 9th & 10th).

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Procession of Saints near Festival Banner
​St. Mary Magdalen, the first Catholic Italian parish in the United States, was established in 1852 by Bishop John Neumann to meet the spiritual needs of Philadelphia's Italian immigrant community. It also met their social needs with its orphanage and school, and its Procession of Saints was an important celebration that brought everyone together. The procession from Saint Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi Church is known to have existed since at least the 1920's, and continues annually to this day with St. Paul's parish.

Historically, processions have long been part of cultural and religious traditions, to serve as public manifestations and reminders of communal solidarity, and they were often held to mark special events. During the latter part of the 18th century, statues of holy people were becoming integral parts of Catholic processions.

As part of the great church art movement that started in the Middle Ages, sculptures memorialized holy people and their works. Saints and other holy people were often adopted as patrons within parishes or communities for the common qualities they shared, such as a trade or vocation, and their statues acted as reminders of the morals and beliefs that they valued.

The pinning of money to ribbons dangling from the statues seems to have origins in the practice of many new immigrants, who, to be remembered and as a declaration of their newfound prosperity, sent money back home to be visibly displayed on the statue of the community's patron Saint, in the church and in processions. Today, many devotees simply make a prayer and pin money as an offering in support of the religious institution that is fostering their spiritual belief and needs.

The procession pauses from time to time to give blessings by sprinkling Holy Water, a ritual tradition for expiatory and purificatory purposes attributed to the Apostle St. Matthew, which recalls the baptismal rite that spiritually bound the community together.

More about the tradition of Catholic Processions: Balch Institute | Times of Malta | Queen of Angels | Britannica | New Advent | Catholic.com | AskACatholic.com | Wikipedia | Historial Society of PA
The South 9th Street Italian Market - Founded in 1915
The South 9th St Italian Market Visitor Center
919 S. 9th Street
Philadelphia PA 19147
Founded in 1915 © United Merchants of the S. 9th St. Business Association
Contact: Michele@ItalianMarketFestival.com​