The Cult

The cult of Saint Efisio in Sardinia has been recorded since the eleventh century, with the construction of the church dedicated to him in Nora and then with the construction of the homonym church in Cagliari in the XIII century.

The continuity of the saint's cult has uninterrupted evidence in every century.

Tradition dates the origin of the Feast to the vow pronounced in 1652, so that the Saint, Sardae Patronus insulae, could intervene on City's behalf and free it from the plague.

Over the centuries the rite has undergone some changes even if the structure has remained unchanged. The ceremony provides, between the 1st and the 4th of May, the pilgrimage of St.Efisio's statue from Cagliari to Nora and then its return to the City.

Besides the procession of the 1st of May, Cagliari dedicates to the Holy warrior three different celebrations: on January 15th it commemorates the day of martyrdom, on Holy Thursday, the so-called "tour of the seven churches" of Sant'Efisio in mourning, organized by the Archconfraternity “del Gonfalone” and, finally, on Easter Monday the statue is carried in procession into the Cathedral to honour the solemn vow done by the City of Cagliari in 1793 for protection against the French attack from the sea.