"Blessed Nicola Paglia: Giovinazzo Renews Its Ancient Bond – 16 February 2026, A Feast of Liturgy and Civic Memory"
There is a date that never passes unnoticed in the religious and civic calendar of Giovinazzo: 16 February, the liturgical memorial of Blessed Nicola Paglia. On Monday, 16 February 2026, the city once again gathers around its most illustrious son — thirteenth-century theologian and preacher, a leading figure among the Dominicans, and a symbol of a tradition that harmoniously unites faith, learning, and civic belonging.
The celebration has been preceded by the customary triduum of preparation at the Church of San Domenico. Each evening, at 5:45 p.m., the Rosary was recited, followed by Holy Mass at 6:15 p.m., drawing confraternities, parish groups, and individual faithful into an atmosphere of deep spiritual participation.
On Monday, 16 February, the programme reaches its solemn culmination:
5:45 p.m. – Holy Rosary
6:00 p.m. – Solemn Eucharistic Celebration, presided over by H.E. Most Rev. Domenico Cornacchia, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, with the participation of civil and military authorities and the city’s devotional confraternities.
7:30 p.m. – Procession of the half-bust of the Blessed through the streets of the historic centre.
The procession will depart from San Domenico, pass through Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, Via Beato Nicola Paglia, Piazza San Felice, and Via Gelso—near the traditional site identified as his birthplace—before reaching the Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta. The route symbolically returns the Blessed to the stones and faces of his native city.
Born in Giovinazzo in 1197, Nicola pursued his studies in Bologna, where he encountered the preaching of Saint Dominic and was profoundly moved by it. He entered the Order of Preachers, soon distinguishing himself through theological culture, apostolic zeal, and notable organisational ability.
Dominican sources describe him as “vir religiosus et litteratus et gratiosissimus praedicator”—a deeply devout and learned man, and a most gracious preacher. He held offices of governance within the Order, contributed to the foundation and consolidation of several convents in central Italy, and took an active part in the great ecclesial renewal of the thirteenth century, when the mendicant orders carried the Word into university cities and rapidly transforming urban centres.
He died in Perugia on 16 February 1256. His enduring reputation for holiness was formally recognised in 1828 by Pope Leo XII, who confirmed his cult. For Giovinazzo, however, this official recognition was but a milestone: popular devotion had safeguarded his memory for centuries.
Each year, the procession of 16 February is more than a liturgical observance. It is a profoundly communal act in which religious memory and civic consciousness intertwine. As the half-bust passes through the narrow streets of the old town, a deeper message emerges: the city recognises in Nicola Paglia not only a Blessed, but a model of coherence between study and faith, between word and witness.
In an age often marked by fragmentation, the feast of the Blessed restores unity. It brings back to the forefront the meaning of community, the continuity of tradition, and Giovinazzo’s capacity to preserve a heritage that is not mere nostalgia, but a living root.
On Monday evening, as the bells accompany the procession’s departure and the lights illuminate the historic centre, it will not simply be a medieval figure that is celebrated. It will be the very history of Giovinazzo itself—a history that continues, step by step, in the footsteps of its Blessed.
