Jubilee 2025 in the dioceses of Calabria: sites, paths and festivities

The 2025 Jubilee in the dioceses of Calabria is an ideal opportunity to discover the places of faith, religious paths and major festivities of the 12 Calabrian dioceses.

Each of the dioceses in Calabria opens its doors to the faithful, pilgrims and ordinary visitors to let them discover the marvels of a centuries-old artistic and cultural heritage, made up of shrines, cathedrals, small churches and chapels, monasteries, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, hermitages and paths in the footsteps of saints and blessed.

Let’s discover together which are the main places to visit, the festivities not to be missed and the itineraries to follow among the dioceses of Calabria. 

Calabrian dioceses in the province of Cosenza

The dioceses of Calabria in the province of Cosenza offer the faithful a truly inestimable heritage, which also includes two precious UNESCO sites: the Cathedral of Cosenza, ‘’Heritage Witness of Peace Culture‘’ where the Madonna del Pilerio is worshipped and celebrated, and the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis, the ancient illuminated evangeliary at the Diocesan Museum and Codex of Rossano.  

The spirituality of this territory passes through some emblematic figures of Calabrian monasticism, first and foremost that of St. Francis of Paola, the patron saint of Calabria, to whom a special Path is dedicated (which can be followed in 3 different ways, ‘’Way of the Young Man‘’, ‘’Way of the Hermit‘’, ‘’Way of the Monasteries‘’). Below is a list of the Calabrian dioceses in the province of Cosenza:

• Archdiocese Cosenza-Bisignano
• Archdiocese of Rossano-Cariati
• Diocese of Cassano all’Ionio
• Diocese of San Marco Argentano-Scalea

In addition to those already mentioned, the most representative places of the Calabrian dioceses and archdioceses in the province of Cosenza include Bisignano, a town with 15 churches and the Shrine of Sant’Umile da Bisignano (1222), to which the festival of the same name and the Saint Friars’ Way are linked, and two abbeys that have made the history of Calabrian monasticism: the Sambucina in Luzzi and the Florense Abbey in San Giovanni in Fiore, with the Joachimite Way attached.

The dioceses of Tyrrhenian Calabria in the province of Cosenza include two important Marian sites: the Shrine of the Madonna del Pettoruto in San Sosti and that of the Madonna della Grotta, in Praia a Mare; as well as the important festivals of San Marco Evangelista, in San Marco Argentano (the town that hosts the ancient Matina Abbey), the Madonna del Carmine in Scalea and San Ciriaco in Buonvicino. 

On the Ionian side, the Calabrian dioceses guard some jewels of Byzantine-Norman art: in Rossano, the splendid Cathedral of the Madonna Achiropita; the Shrine of San Francesco in Corigliano Calabro and the Co-cathedral of San Michele Arcangelo in Cariati, with respective festivities. Among the Calabrian dioceses of the Upper Ionian Sea, Cassano all’Ionio offers the beauty of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Lauro, as well as the patronal feast of San Biagio and that of the Crucifix.

Other places and religious events not to be missed in the dioceses of Calabria in province of Cosenza are the rock caves and monastic evidence along the Basilian Way; the Shrine of the Madonna delle Armi in Cerchiara di Calabria, among the most venerated Marian shrines in the region with its own itinerary; the Shrine of the Madonna del Castello in Castrovillari and the festivities of San Domenico in Longobucco, San Rocco in Bocchigliero and the Madonna del Carmelo in Terravecchia.

Calabrian dioceses in the province of Catanzaro

The dioceses of Calabria in the province of Catanzaro can count on a conspicuous religious, artistic and cultural heritage that can be visited all year round. A heritage that passes through the following Calabrian dioceses and archdioceses:

• Archdiocese Catanzaro-Squillace
• Lamezia Terme Diocese

A territory of great Marian devotion, the Catanzaro area holds a jewel of European monasticism that actually falls within the province of Vibo Valentia: it is the Charterhouse of Saints Stephen and Bruno, in Serra San Bruno, one of the few still inhabited in Italy, founded directly by Saint Bruno of Cologne. The Carthusian monastery in Serra is associated with the important feast day of San Bruno (6 October), the patron saint of the town, and the related pilgrimage (Bruniano Path) to the hermitage and Shrine of Santa Maria nel Bosco, in the heart of the Serre Regional Park.

Also part of the Serre territory is the Shrine of Maria SS. della Consolazione, in Brognaturo, the destination of an equally heartfelt summer festival and pilgrimage. The Shrines of Maria SS. della Pietra in Chiaravalle Centrale and Maria SS. della Grazie in Torre di Ruggiero, both pilgrimage destinations and stops along the Preserre Path, are also part of the Serre Regional Park.

In addition to the most important places of worship in Catanzaro, first and foremost the Basilica of the Immacolata, the city’s oldest church, we should also mention the evocative ‘’Cassiodorean‘’ places in Squillace and the surrounding area: walking along the Vivariense Path, named after the ancient monastery founded in the 6th century by Flavio Magno Aurelio Cassiodoro, we encounter the Shrine of the Madonna del Ponte and the Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. In the Presila area of Catanzaro, along the Corace Path, there is the Mother Church of the SS. Salvatore and the important Marian site of the Shrine of the Madonna di Porto di Gimigliano, the site of a very popular festival, the Procession of the Picture of the Virgin.

Among the dioceses of Calabria, the territory of the city of Lamezia Terme hosts the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul (in the city’s historic centre), the Shrine of Maria SS. della Quercia di Visora in Conflenti and the Shrine of the Madonna di Dipodi in Feroleto Antico, which celebrate their respective patron saints every year in August. Not to be missed at Easter, the evocative Procession of the Vattienti of Nocera Terinese.

Calabrian dioceses in the province of Crotone

Among the dioceses and archdioceses in Calabria, the Crotone-Santa Severina Archdiocese represents a notable centre of Marian worship for the entire region: starting with the highly venerated Black Madonna of Capocolonna, in Crotone, to whom the Shrine of Capocolonna is dedicated, in the locality of the same name on the promontory where the National Archaeological Park is also located, and the great festival that crosses the city every May, from Crotone Cathedral, where the miraculous painting of the Madonna (10th century) is kept, to the Shrine by the sea.      

The medieval village of Santa Severina, among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, represents a Diocesan Cultural Pole of great prestige, both from a spiritual and a monumental point of view: the old town is home to the Cathedral of Saint Anastasia (12th century), seat of the annual festival that carries a precious 18th-century statue in procession, and an important Byzantine Baptistery, the oldest building of its kind still in use in Calabria.

Other Shrines and related festivities that fall within the Crotone Archdiocese include the Shrine of the Holy Thorn in Petilia Policastro, with the homonymous Path (which is part of the broader Way of the Cross, which also includes the Shrine of Ecce Homo in Mesoraca and the Santissimo Crocifisso in Cutro), and the Festival of the Greek Madonna in Isola Capo Rizzuto, held in May and August (the latter with a procession of boats).    

Calabrian dioceses in the province of Vibo Valentia

The dioceses of Calabria in the province of Vibo Valentia are grouped together in the Diocese of Mileto-Nicotera-Tropea, which encompasses a vast territory stretching from the Costa degli Dei to the mountains of the Serre Regional Park.

Let us start with a visit to the important Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and San Nicola in Mileto, to learn more about the history of the Calabrian diocese founded directly by Roger of Altavilla, under Pope Gregory VII, passing from the Greek-Byzantine to the Latin rite and becoming one of the religious landmarks of southern Italy.

Some of the most revered places of worship in the region belong to this diocese: the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Refuge of the Souls of Paravati, place of devotion of the mystic Natuzza, with its Path; the Shrine of Santa Maria dell’Isola and the Cathedral of Mary Most Holy of Romania, with the homonymous festival in Tropea, among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy.

Two not-to-be-missed festivities take place in the historic centre of Vibo Valentia: the suggestive Easter Affruntàta and the Processione delle Vare at the Church of the Rosario.   

Calabrian dioceses in the province of Reggio Calabria

The dioceses of Calabria in the province of Reggio Calabria combine various itineraries of spirituality, art and nature on two different coasts, Tyrrhenian and Ionian, separated by the majestic Aspromonte National Park, an area rich in Marian shrines, hermitages and itineraries all waiting to be discovered. Not to be missed is the Procession of the Varia in Palmi, among the UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Calabria.

Here is the list of Calabrian dioceses in the province of Reggio Calabria:

• Archdiocese Reggio Calabria-Bova
• Diocese Locri-Gerace
• Diocese Oppido Mamertina-Palmi

The journey of discovery of the Calabrian dioceses of the province of Reggio Calabria starts from the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, devoted to Our Lady of Consolation, in whose honour one of the most important and popular festivals in the region is celebrated every year in September. Also known as the ‘’Madonna Feast‘’, the procession sees the traditional ‘’bearers‘’ drag a heavy painting of the Virgin (Vara) from the Shrine of the same name on the hill to the Cathedral of Maria SS. Assunta in Cielo (which is also the final destination of the Way of St. Paul) and vice versa. 

The Archdiocese includes the Greek-speaking ethnic minority territories of Bova and the surrounding area, where veneration focuses on the Co-Cathedral of Maria SS. dell’Isodia and the Shrine of San Leo, the destination of an important procession. Also not to be missed are the Shrine of Maria SS. di Porto Salvo, in Melito; the Church of the Carmine in Bagnara Calabra and the evocative Festival of San Rocco in Scilla.    

Among the dioceses of Ionian Calabria, that of Locri-Gerace boasts a series of religious sites suspended between the sea of the Costa dei Gelsomini and the panoramic hilltop villages. Two of the region’s most representative shrines belong to this diocese: the Shrine of the Madonna di Polsi and the Shrine of Saints Cosma and Damiano in Riace. The first, in the territory of San Luca, in the heart of the Aspromonte National Park, is the object of ancient devotion for the entire province: the traditional pilgrimage to Polsi takes place every year from 31 August to 2 September and culminates with the Feast of the Madonna di Polsi. The second, involving an equally well attended pilgrimage from the entire region, takes place on the Feast of the Santi Medici, 26 September.

Among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, the Locri diocese boasts Gerace and Stilo: the first, offers a visit to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, one of the jewels of Byzantine-Norman architecture in Calabria, the Diocesan Museum, the Church of San Francesco and the Shrine of Prestarona in Canolo; the second, the Cathedral of Stilo and the famous Cattolica of Stilo, another symbol of Byzantine Calabria. Not far away, in the territory of Pazzano, is the panoramic Shrine of the Madonna di Monte Stella, and in that of Bivongi, the Monastery of San Giovanni Theristis (Greek Orthodox). Unmissable festivals include: the Caracolo in Caulonia, during Holy Saturday; the Madonna delle Grazie in Roccella Ionica; San Rocco in Gioiosa Ionica; Maria SS. di Porto Salvo in Siderno and Maria SS. di Pugliano in Bianco.

The dioceses of Tyrrhenian Calabria boast two unmissable jewels: the Shrine of Maria SS. Annunziata in Oppido Mamertina and the Shrine of the Madonna dei Poveri in Seminara. The places of faith located in this territory can be visited through a series of sacred itineraries: the so-called ‘’Marathon of the Saints‘’ (a route following in the footsteps of Italo-Greek and Basilian saints), the ‘’Ways of the Renaissance‘’ (Seminara, Sinopoli, Oppido, Terranova) and the ‘’Path of the Marian Shrines‘’. Among the festivals not to be missed: the Procession of San Rocco and the Spinati in Palmi, the Good Friday Procession and the 14 Varette in Cittanova, the Procession of Sant’Eufemia in Sant’Eufemia d’Aspromonte and the Triumph of the Saints in Polistena, with 24 statues in honour of the patron saint.   

Eparchy of Lungro

Calabria is home to three very important ethnolinguistic minorities on its territory. One of these is the Italo-Albanian community (arbëreshë) spread across the provinces of Cosenza, Catanzaro and Crotone.

The Arbëreshë represent a point of reference for all Albanians in Calabria, who huddle around their respective eparchies, the main territorial reference centres of the Greek-Byzantine rite. Among the towns that most preserve the language and rite of its origins, Lungro, in the province of Cosenza, is considered a small capital: seat of the Italo-Albanian College of Saint Adrian since 1794, it is a true beacon of Albanian identity heritage, with the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas of Myra and the Diocesan Museum, the Church of Saint Mary of Constantinople, the Shrine of the Odigitria (10th century) and the great festival dedicated to the patron saint.

The town of Acquaformosa, located in the province of Cosenza, also preserves rich testimonies of Byzantine and Greek Orthodox icons at the Church of San Giovanni Battista (16th century), of the Madonna della Misericordia and at the Shrine of Santa Maria del Monte. Among the itineraries and festivals to discover the Arbëreshë cults, we recommend those involving the towns of San Cosmo Albanese, Santa Sofia d’Epiro, Firmo, San Costantino Albanese and Castroregio.

The Albanian Easter rites deserve their own chapter, involving the entire community and visitors and taking place with traditional dances, the vallije, particularly in the villages of Civita, among The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, Frascineto and San Basile.