The Feast of the Three Saints is held every year in Silkwood, Australia. The Feast brings people together, in celebration, from all over North Queensland and beyond, occurring on the first Sunday in May.

In the Year 2000 we celebrated, in Italian and English, our 50th Anniversary and, to mark the occasion, a 50th Anniversary Book was produced, which can be purchased online. Through the years a number of photographs have been collected and these are displayed in the Photo Gallery.

On Sunday, 6th May, 2012 the Saints will celebrate 62 years in Australia. Plans are well underway for the Three Saints Committee Dinner, which is traditionally held on the Friday evening of the Anniversary weekend. Sunday will see Mass celebrated with the Bishop, the Solemn Procession through Silkwood and Mass with the Scalabrinian Father, followed by the Blessing and Veneration of the relics of the Three Saints. Details of the attending Celebrants are yet to be confirmed but the event promises to be a major highlight for the district.

Other festivities include a barbecue, with traditional Italian food, stalls and entertainment and, of course, 7.00 p.m. will herald the lighting of the night skies with a brilliant fireworks display. Everyone is welcome to attend.

The History of the Three Saints, St Alfio, St Filadelfo and St Cerino, in Silkwood began in 1950, when they were brought from Italy to Silkwood by Rosario Tornabene. For the complete history visit our History of the Saints section.

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This Year's Feast

Australia's Largest Religious & Cultural Festival

Sunday, 6th May 2012

More Information

More information about the 2012 feast will be available at a later date.In the meantime, please Contact Us if you have any questions about the feast.

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Location


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Accommodation

Silkwood is approximately one and a half to two hours' drive by car from the Cairns Airport, in beautiful, tropical Far North Queensland.

Located in the wettest part of the state, Silkwood is surrounded by lush, green paddocks of sugarcane and rows of bananas, pawpaws, passionfruit and other tropical fruits. Tropical rainforest lies on one side of the local township and the glorious Great Barrier Reef, to the East, on the other.

The beautiful Atherton Tablelands is one hour's drive away, with it's rolling dairy pastures and potato, maize and fruit crops. With its higher elevation, the climate is cool and confortable, and definitely worth a visit should you have the time.

The town of Silkwood itself is small but nearby towns boast accommodation to cater for all tastes. A selection of available facilities is listed for information purposes and, of course, many other venues are available and may be viewed online.

Kurrimine Beach

Just a short drive from Silkwood, Kurrimine Beach is a beautiful, beachside township with a variety of accommodation choices available:

Mission Beach

Mission Beach, a little further south, is a beautiful place to visit or stay for a while - glorious white beaches and lush, tropical rainforest - truly a tropical paradise!

Tully

Tully, a sugar township to the South-West of Mission Beach is one of the wettest towns in Australia and a perfect venue for adventure-seekers wishing to try their hand at white-water rafting.

Innisfail

Half an hour north of Silkwood, beautiful Innisfail, nestled on the intersection of the North Johnstone and South Johnstone Rivers, is a great place to base your visit. Close to the mountains and the beaches, there is much to do, including the Johstone River Crocodile Farm, Paronella Park (Winner of RACQ's 150 Must-Do's in Qld), the Australian Sugar Industry Museum and the Chinese Joss House, to name a few.

Cairns

One hour north of Innisfail, Cairns is a growing, vibrant city with plenty of accommodation to suit all requirements. Please peruse your chosen accommodation requirements online.

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Photos from Previous Years

1950-1955 - Feast of the Three Saints in Silkwood

The first carriage built to carry the Three Saints through the streets of Silkwood

Procession through the streets of Silkwood 1980's

Feast of the Three Saints 2007

Feast of the Three Saints 2007

Feast of the Three Saints 2008

Feast of the Three Saints 2009

Feast of the Three Saints 2009

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History of the Feast of the Three Saints

From "The Three Saints" by Stefano Girola

Things really seemed to take a turn for the better: In 1936 Rosario married a woman of Sicilian origin, Alfia Patti, a resident in North Queensland from the age of four. Rosario's dream was also fulfilled by the purchase of his first piece of land, on the Lever Estate farm in Silkwood, to where he moved after the wedding. In 1939, Alfia gave birth to Vera but the happiness of this event was short- lived. After a few days her health took a turn for the worse; there were several complications, as if her blood was poisoned, and she was near death. One Saturday morning Rosario found himself alone and desperate in the corridors of the Innisfail Hospital. He could hear the child crying and he did not know what to do. Distraught by the pain and many sleepless nights, he went back home and fell into a restless sleep, where he dreamt of the Three Saints, who appeared in the most familiar image for him; that of the statues held in the church of St Alfio. They spoke to him in a reassuring way: "Don't worry Rosario, don't be afraid, everything will be alright". Rosario woke up disturbed and felt the need to tell a friend about the dream and, at the same time, he took a vow to Alfio, Filadelfo and Cirino: if his daughter and wife survived, he would provide for the statues to be sent from Sicily. His wife and daughter were transferred to another hospital, where doctors finally gave the appropriate treatment. Rosario had no doubts: he associated the recovery of his wife, Alfia, with his dream. As a child he had obviously seen the ex-voto of Trecastagni, or those in the church of St Alfio, in which three small figures in the corner of the painting watched over that body lying on the bed in the operating theatre, in a critical moment of weakness. It was as if the Saints, with light emanating from them, guided the surgeon bent over the patient. After a few days of convalescence, Alfia and Vera were cured. From that moment on Rosario became fixated on the thought of fulfilling the vow he made to the Three Saints and having their statues sent over.

It was in the period between the end of 1947 and the beginning of 1948 that, following a conversation between Rosario Tornabene and Father Natali, the idea of having the statues of the Three Saints sent to Queensland was put into practice. Many years had passed since Rosario made his vow, which, although never completely forgotten, had been overshadowed by the many troubles of his life and temporarily put on hold. Now his intention of bringing over the statues coincided with the need of the parish priest to organise events that would draw the Italians back to the church, thus providing much-needed financial support. But there was another aim, as the elderly Father Natali explained in a 1997 interview, in which he recalled that conversation with Tornabene; he wanted to add a new dimension to the lives of the people for whom work was their only concern.

"Over in Silkwood those poor people worked all day, you know. They never had anything, no festivities, nothing. So I always encouraged them to have something to liven the place up and, one day, Tornabene came to me and I said: 'Look, I said, what would you like to have here? He said, "Well, you know, in our town we used to have the Feast of the Three Saints, St Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfo and boy, those were big feasts!" "Well", I said, "Do you want to have the same feast over here? I'll be glad to allow you to bring the Saints". "Oh", he said, "that would be wonderful!"

Now Rosario had no hesitation; he soon wrote to his parents in Sicily, explaining what he needed and pledging to pay personally for all the necessary expenses. He was prepared to make any sacrifice in order to fulfill the vow he made to the Saints. Rosario allocated his whole share of his father's property to this project. His parents got in touch with an old artisan in Giarre, who would use the wood of those cherry trees that, as Tornabene still remembered many years later, "were near my father's property". The artist's brief was to carve identical statues, but on a smaller scale, to those held in the Main Church of Saint Alfio.

For more History of the Feast of the Three Saints, please see our "50th Anniversary Book".

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50th Anniversary Book & Video

The Three Saints: Faith, History, Tradition from Sicily to Queensland

By Stefano Girola

The day of martyrdom finally arrived: the whole population was in trepidation, either cheering with joy or silent and stupefied. As the three brothers refused once again to renounce their Christian faith, Tertullius, from the height of his throne, pronounced the three fatal sentences: "Alfio, who spoke too much, will have his tongue cut out!", "Filadelfo will be burnt alive on the grid!", "Cirino will be thrown into boiling tar!" The sentences were to be carried out at once. After seeing his brothers facing martyrdom with a smile akin to those who feel close to a divine reward, Cirino found the courage to jump into the cauldron, before he was thrown in.

This was the end of the earthly existence of the Three Saints, which occurred on 10th May at Pubblico. Their bodies were dragged to a place known as Strobilio and thrown into a well, as a last humiliation inflicted on those who, in their lives, shone instead with clear virtues. However, the pity of those women who had alleviated the suffering of their bodies did not stop with their death. During the night Tecla and Giustina, with the help of their servants, went to remove them from that dark and undignified burial place. The sweet perfume that increased in intensity as they approached the well helped them to find the bodies, while the three brothers appeared to them above the well, already surrounded by a celestial halo. After this vision, they took the three bodies to a cave close to the house of Tecla and Giustina. When peace had been established between the Christians and the Empire, a church was built there, in honour of the saintly brothers.

Soft Cover book - $20.95 + postage ($9.50 within Australia/$14.10 for International postage).

For enquiries or to purchase this book please contact us.

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