Over 15 thousand locals and guests arrived in Dubrovnik yesterday to pay homage to the patron saint of the City of Dubrovnik, St. Blaise, as his Festivity was celebrated for the 1052nd time.
And it was a day that followed the tradition in every way. Firstly, the weather was perfect, with blue skies and golden sunshine, and more importantly the grand procession followed the same pattern as it has for the past thousand years.
Photo - Bozo Radic / CROPIX
And the calm and warm weather made the grand procession through the streets of the city even more magnificent, adorned with a large number of flags and banners from church parishes throughout Croatia and beyond. Among them, it is worth mentioning the flag from the Indian state of Goa, once a trading colony of the ancient Republic of Dubrovnik, where a Church of Saint Blaise is located.
Photo - Bozo Radic / CROPIX
After the solemn Mass celebration, the procession, carrying the relics of Saint Blaise and other saints, including the special relics of the head of Saint Blaise and the relic of Jesus' swaddling clothes carried under a canopy, started from the cathedral, passing through the stone streets of the Old City.