Welcome

Whether you are passing through Salento or staying for a while, you are welcome to pray and celebrate Mass with our parish community in Carmiano, in the province of Lecce, in Salento. Masses are celebrated in Italian; the times change with the seasons and this week’s schedule is shown below.

Saint Anthony the Abbot

Our patron, Saint Anthony the Abbot (about 251–356), gave away everything he owned to live as a hermit in the Egyptian desert, and is honoured as the father of monasticism. He is the patron saint of domestic animals and is usually shown with a T-shaped staff, a bell, fire and a small pig.

The feast

Carmiano celebrates its patron on the Sunday between 21 and 27 January. On Saturday afternoon, the eve of the feast, the statue of the saint is carried in procession through the streets and animals are blessed in front of the church; in the evening the great bonfire, the focara, is lit. Each year’s programme is published, in Italian, on the Festa page.

Getting here

The church is at Via don Donato Franco 40, in Carmiano (province of Lecce). Use the links below to open the location in your maps app, and feel free to write to us on WhatsApp or by email if you need anything.