Giornata delle Mamme e dei Bambini

Mothers' and Children's Day is an event that takes place in Materdomini, a hamlet of Caposele, on the last Sunday in May.

The feast, also known as "Domenica delle Rose" (Sunday of the Roses) because of the flowers that mothers offer as a gift to the Mother of God, is one of the most important moments of devotion held at the Sanctuary of San Gerardo. On this occasion, thousands of people gather to celebrate the patron saint of mothers and children, whose fame is particularly linked to the miracle of the handkerchief. The story goes that, shortly before his death, Gerard left a handkerchief near the home of a family in Oliveto Citra who had given him hospitality. It was picked up by a little girl who, at the Saint's invitation, kept the object, as it might have been useful to her. After a few years, the girl, who in the meantime had become a woman, suffered greatly during childbirth and, to relieve her pain, she had the handkerchief that Saint Gerard had given her brought to her. The doctors placed the handkerchief on the woman's womb and found that her suffering had ceased, and so the birth of her first-born child was a smooth one.

This miracle helped to strengthen the figure of Saint Gerard Maiella even more, even on this wonderful day. The event, which is held every year in Materdomini, takes place according to the following schedule: starting on the morning of the last Sunday in May, there is a service to welcome pilgrims in the churchyard of the Sanctuary; then, Holy Mass is celebrated outdoors, followed in turn by a very beautiful and evocative procession in which mothers lay roses at the feet of the statue of the Madonna in the Park of the Redeemer, not far from the place of worship. 

An occasion of great faith and conviviality, Mothers' and Children's Day brings together many families, united by their affection and devotion to one of the best-loved saints in Irpinia.