Catholicism in Sicily

[NorthTexan88]

I’m half Sicilian and was talking to some family about the Catholic Church there. They were saying how catholicism there was different than the mainland and other places. I read how it was more like the eastern churches in the begining. They told me that there is a big emphasis on the dead and saints rather than on Jesus. Were they just confused or is this the case?

 

[eddy714]

I’m half Sicilian and was talking to some family about the Catholic Church there. They were saying how catholicism there was different than the mainland and other places. I read how it was more like the eastern churches in the begining. They told me that there is a big emphasis on the dead and saints rather than on Jesus. Were they just confused or is this the case?

Hello Brethren,

I will speak for my self, I am Mexican and in our traditions we do focus a lot on the Saints the spirits in purgatory and in our Lady of Guadalupe.

I followed what my mom and my aunts would do but then I wanted to know why we did this. So I began to read the Bible and non of this was in there other then Jesus our savior which made me confused.
So I prayed about it and I know that people venerate in different ways but always to God and Jesus himself threw the intercessors that are the Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Plus you also have to understand that most people where not catechized correctly or didn’t pay attention in there classes .

Most people don’t bother to do the research and just go with the flow I love our Mexican traditions on how we venerate. But at the same time it is up to us to grow in our faith.

God Bless

Praying for the Souls in Purgatory

 

[MarcoPolo]

They might be referring to the famous catacombs in Palermo where you can see the bodies.

But saying Sicily has a “big emphasis” on dead saints is subjective. People could say that about U.S. Catholics who also pray to saints.

 

[Mintaka]

Sicily was property of the Byzantine Empire for a long time. (So was Venice.) So yes, there’s a lot of Eastern Rite influence there, and many of the churches still have giant mosaics or Eastern-style paintings of Christ up on the ceiling, etc.

Of course, they also were ruled by the Normans, the Muslims, and a bunch of other folks over the centuries. So there’s a lot of influence, period.

Here’s an article showing one of the best known of those ceilings.