The feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary del Soccorso, patroness of Sciacca, is celebrated twice a year: on 2 February and on 15 August. The statue, adorned with jewels given by the faithful, is carried through the centre — Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Via Licata — by barefoot sailors, and the procession is preceded by clouds of incense: tradition tells that when the smoke passed at the feet of the statue the people of Sciacca were cured of the plague.
The feast was indeed born after the plague epidemic of 1626. The statue, carved in 1504 by Giuliano Mancino and Bartolomeo Berrettaro, was according to legend found at sea and carried in procession by fishermen; it stayed in the church of Sant'Agostino until 1796, when it passed to the mother church, the basilica of Maria Santissima del Soccorso.
