"Sint Gummarus Processie" 21 November, 2018 at Lier, Belgium

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Every year the city of Lier (Belgium) is celebrating its patron Saint St Gummarus by a procession. The Saint Gummarus procession takes place on the first Sunday after 10 October (Sint-Gummarus fair).

Sixteen members of the Society of the Bearers carry the silver reliquary of St. Gummarus, which weighs more than 800 kg, through the streets of Lier.

During the feast day of the Saint (11 October), pilgrims from everywhere world come to the Sint-Gummarus church to ask for healing of malfunctions and call in the Saint's help to stay free of fractures.

In pronouncing the blessing, the priest puts the belt of Saint Gummarus on the shoulders of the pilgrim, the ritual of laying the band. This refers to the story where Saint Gummarus healed a cut down tree by wrapping his belt around the trunk and bringing it back into bloom.

source text (in Dutch)

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