Race of the Saints tradition continues to run strong
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JESSUP, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Thousands this holiday weekend celebrated an event in Lackawanna County rooted in rich tradition, family, and faith.
From the top to the bottom of the small town of Jessup, thousands of people celebrated Saint Ubaldo Day.
The day capped off by the Race of the Saints is an annual tradition that dates back decades.
Carrying statues of St. Ubaldo, St. George, and St. Anthony, runners of all ages set off Saturday for another year of the ‘Race of the Saints’.
“To honor St. Ubaldo in Jessup is a huge honor,” said Eddy Munley the captain of team Saint Ubaldo.
“I feel like it’s everything in my life. It’s really nice,” says John Carey a runner on the Saint Ubaldo team.
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Cheering crowds lined the streets of Jessup to honor the town’s rich Italian immigrant legacy. The celebration dates back more than a century.
“It warms my heart because it started with my grandparents. My grandpa came from Gubbio. When he came here to Jessup he ran in the race, my dad did, my brother, my husband,” stated Marilou Piconi-Kosydar the mother-in-law of team St. Ubaldo runner.
Piconi-koysdar’s niece Grace met her husband who runs for team St. Ubaldo through the event years ago.
Now, their children take part in the small-town celebration.
“It’s so nice to bring the kids into the tradition they are learning the songs and the culture and it’s just a magical time of year,” added Grace.
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“It means that much to me to see my father do something since he was quite literally a child. I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” explained Claudia Casarin daughter of a runner on team St. George.
Even the ending is as traditional as the event itself with team St. Ubaldo guaranteed victory each year.
“Hopefully it runs here for another 100, 1,000 years to come,” says Munley.
What makes it even more special is Saint Ubaldo Day is celebrated in only two places in the world Gubbio, Italy, and Jessup.
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