St. Ubaldo

Small towns the world over have festivals and celebrations that the rest of the world isn't privy to. Northeast PA is no different. St. Ubaldo Day is celebrated in Jessup every year on Memorial Day weekend. Here's what you need to know if you want to get in on the action.

Jessup, PA, is not the originator of St. Ubaldo Day. It is a transplant by Italian immigrants to the region, around 1909. The original St. Ubaldo Day took place in Gubbio, Italy. Both festivals celebrate the life of Bishop Ubaldo Baldassini. Ubaldo lived circa 1084-1160. (For historical context, William the Norman invaded England in 1066; the Seljuk Turks conquered Jerusalem and expanded north to Constantinople and the first crusades began in 1095; and Europe saw a rise in towns at this point in history, and the change from agriculture to mercantilism is going to change the world.)

Ubaldo became a monk and lived a life of piety, poverty, humility, and virtue. He died after a long illness, and because there were many miracles ascribed to him before and after his death, he was canonized as a saint in 1192. His feast day is May 16, and Gubbio celebrates La Corsa dei Ceri on May 15 every year. Jessup has chosen the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend as their day to run the Race of the Saints. La Corsa symbolizes the point in Ubaldo's life when he prevented Frederick Barbarossa from sacking Gubbio; because Ubaldo didn't have TV or radio to tell the people to prepare, he was placed on a pedestal and carried through town to warn the people. That's why participants today place the three saints on pedestals to process through town. (No one quite knows how or when George and Anthony got in on the deal.)

On Saturday, May 28, 2016, festivities will begin early in the morning. High school musicians play and walk the streets. Members of the three families, Saint Anthony, Saint George, and of course St. Ubaldo, gather for a ceremony, and then everyone gathers in the street to prepare the saints. Statues of the three are attached to pedestals (ceri, in Italian); team members will carry pedestals and saints through the streets. The St. Ubaldo Day website specifies that this is not a race in the modern sense of a competition; Ubaldo is always first and the point is for all three teams to keep their saint upright on the platform. Although all are welcome to the weekend festivities, only current or former residents of Jessup, or others with special permission, are permitted in the Race of the Saints.

If you like porketta sandwiches, get your orders in! And follow the link above to see the calendar of festivities. The Fireman's Parade is Friday night, Mass will be celebrated at 11 AM Saturday at St. Michael's, and the Corsa dei Ceri will take place at 5 PM. The annual carnival runs May 25-30.