Palermo’s patroness, Santa Rosalia (Pictured: her likeness illustrated in Palermo’s Immaculate Conception Church), is recognized annually on September 4, the day she died in 1166, with a solemn pilgrimage to her sanctuary at the top of Mount Pellegrino. Tomorrow, pilgrims will arrive from far and wide to process up Mount Pellegrino, often barefoot or on their knees, in order to pay homage to the maiden who rejected a life of privilege and instead, sought a life devoted to prayer and solitude.