As every year since 1854, Nice* celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Malonat every last weekend in July.
The origin of this religious tradition dates back to the Sardinian period when cholera appeared in Nice in July 1854. Faced with the magnitude of the scourge, the inhabitants of the Malonat district placed themselves under the protection of the Virgin Mary through official prayers of thanksgiving on August 2, 1854. A public subscription was organized by the women of the district, since then known as “Prioulessa” (the Prioresses), to finance the construction of an oratory in thanks for the end of the epidemic, dedicated to Our Lady of Good Help, also known as Our Lady of Malonat.
The first celebration of Our Lady of Malonat took place on August 2, 1854, and the oratory itself was inaugurated on September 8, 1854. Since then, an annual votive feast has been organized in the district.
This Sunday at 10 a.m., Mass will be held at the Church of the Gesรน with the presence of the folk group “La Ciamada Nissarda,” followed by a procession at 11 a.m. through the Church of the Gesรน along Rue Droite, Rue du Malonat, and the Oratory of Malonat. At 11:45 a.m., there will be a blessing at the Oratory, and at 12 p.m., folk group performances will take place on the Terrace of the Prioresses of Malonat.
An exhibition in tribute to Marie Favola, Prioress of Malonat and a notable figure of the district who passed away in 1978, will mark these two days.
