World Report

St. Agatha Honored with Feast and Celebration in Catania

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ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: The Italian feasts of St. Agatha is one of the most popular gatherings in the world, attractinging both Catholic believers and nonbelievers. The ceremonies honor a young woman in the 3rd century. She was tortured and killed by Roman authorities because she refused to renounce Christianity. Agatha lived in the Sicilian city of Catania, which has made the young woman its patron saint.

Italy's AKTV reports on how they pay tribute.

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ROBERTA ANSARA, AKTV (voice-over): Three days of devotion for (ph) and tradition take place each year in Catania for the feast of its patron saint, Agatha.

Almost a million people of all ages swarm the streets, marching behind her and carrying their patron.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am devoted to St. Agatha. I don't remember exactly why -- a long time ago during Ash Wednesday celebrations, I'd fallen into a fire. I was hospitalized, and so my mother prayed to Saint Agatha. She promised that if I lived, I would wear the white gown in honor of Saint Agatha all my life. It's a joy for me. Today, I am here.

ANSARA: People carry a statue of St. Agatha and their own stories of devotion. Some of them have done it since they were born; others don't even know why they started, but they just continue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Catania would not be Catania without the feast of St. Agatha. And we would not be Catanians without St. Agatha or something like that.

ANSARA: The carriers call themselves devotees. They sing her praises, citadels, a long life to St. Agatha. They wear a white garment called (ph) , white gloves, a dark cap and a belt.

UNIDENTIED MALE: I dress in white because I made a vow, and I have to respect it.

ANSARA: Traditional says that the gold and the dark caps symbolize pentitence. The white stands for hope and purity, and the belt represents St. Agatha's chastity. The people who pull the cart wear white gloves because their hope is sacred.

(on camera): St. Agatha's basque, covered with jewels, is carried on a silver cart, called (ph) all over Catania. Finally, magnificent fireworks welcome the Saint on her way back to the cathedral, where the devoted await her arrival and next year's celebration.

This is Roberta Ansara (ph) for CNN WORLD REPORT.

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