A three-year-old boy has been accepted as a member of the Guild of the Wayfarers in Sassari. This will be one of the highlights of the Guild's Sorteggio degli Obrieri (Celebration of the Guild Members) and the Guild Members' Oath, on the occasion of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this Sunday, June 7th, starting at 10:30 a.m., in the Church of Sant'Agostino. The Wayfarers will gather in the Guild's chapel, in the presence of Monsignor Antonio Tamponi, Vicar General, to participate in the ancient ritual of the Guild's Sorteggio degli Obrieri (Celebration of the Guild Members).
And, as tradition dictates, a child will draw, at the foot of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Buoncammino, the names of the Gremianti called to fill the roles of Major Obriere, Second Flag (Obriere di Candeliere), and Third Flag (Obriere di Cappella), starting with the Great Feast of Our Lady of Buoncammino, which will be celebrated on August 9th. The rite will conclude with a Mass, officiated by Tamponi, followed by the exchange of the Small Flag, the first symbolic handover between the current Major Obriere and the one designated for the following year, in preparation for the intregu that will be celebrated during the Great Feast of Our Lady of Buoncammino.
The feast of Corpus Christi has been one of the Guild's two main solemnities since 1633, the year in which the rite of election of the Obrieri was established in the approved Chapters. Also on Sunday, at 6:00 PM in the Cathedral of San Nicola, Archbishop Francesco Antonio Soddu will preside over the Eucharistic celebration, followed by the Corpus Christi procession to Piazza d'Italia. As per ancient custom, the Viandanti will have the honor of carrying the canopy and providing honorary escort to the Blessed Sacrament, their special patron.
