The beloved and popular 2022 Feast of San Gennaro 2022 kicked off in Little Italy Thursday. Here's what you need to know about this year's event which runs until Sept. 25.
The grand procession where a statue of San Gennaro, floats and a festival band take to the streets is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. The high mass of the patron saint will take place on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood on 113 Baxter St. which will soon be followed by a religious procession.
The Feast of San Gennaro has been an annual tradition in New York City since the turn of the 20th century when Italian immigrants settle in Manhattan,In 1926, as a way to keep the Neapolitan traditions alive, these Italian immigrants decided to have a one-day block party to San Gennaro, their patron saint. This tradition continued year after year, decade after decade, eventually transforming into an 11 day event covering a whopping 11 blocks in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan.