St. Ubaldo festival embodies faith, community

JESSUP — Claudio Sannipoli made the nine-hour trip to Jessup from Gubbio, Italy, this week, to join residents in the St. Ubaldo Day festivities and the legendary Race of the Saints.

Sannipoli was joined by his wife, Luisa Baiocco, and several friends for the annual race that has its roots in his hometown.

This was Sannipoli’s third trip to the festival, but it was Baiocco’s first time at the event and in the area.

“All of this is fantastic,” she said. “It’s like a fairy tale.”

Those attending and participating in the race and the events surrounding it share Baiocco’s view of the day as uniquely both sacred and social.

Jessup’s St. Ubaldo Day race is a scaled-down version of the original in Gubbio, where the celebration of St. Ubaldo Baldassini began in the 12th century.

The race features runners on three teams carrying large, heavy wooden pillars representing candles and topped with small statues of their patron saints — St. Ubaldo, St. George (Giorgio) and St. Anthony (Antonio).

“La Corsa dei Ceri,” or Race of the Candles, brings color and energy to the streets of the borough. The three teams each have 40 to 50 members called ceraioli and are garbed in their team’s colors — yellow for team Ubaldo, blue for George and black for Anthony.

The race is held later in the day, but the day is jampacked with other events, each of which builds excitement for the race.

At noon, hundreds gather for the three team captains to toss vases into the crowd, followed by a mad scramble to pick up a shard of the broken vessels, in a ceremony called “brocche.”

St. Ubaldo

The three team captains of Jessup's St. Ubaldo race throw vases into the crowd Saturday with those picking up the shards believed to have good luck. The captains were then dropped down to their teammates to begin a walk through town visiting former runners, in a show of respect.

Legend has it that if you get a piece of the vase, you have one year’s good luck, but if you get the handle, you’re lucky for a lifetime.

The teams are then off to process through the borough, stopping at the homes of those runners who are no longer able to run and those who have passed away.

The day’s events bring thousands of people to Jessup, making parking and traffic somewhat of a challenge.

For Jeff Cruciani, of Peckville, the race is part of his family history.

Cruciani runs for team Ubaldo because his grandfather ran for the team. He remembers joining the team with friends as soon as he was old enough.

Last year he had the honor of being named “primo capitano” by his teammates.

Standing with his daughter Milan and other family members, he said the day was all about friends, family and faith.

Saturday marked Jeff Paone’s 24th year running for St. Ubaldo, just as his father did.

Paone’s father passed away several years ago and now he is sharing his passion for the race with his children, ages 10 and 11.

The two will be running in the “Ceri Piccoli,” a child-sized race held Sunday.

Paone said the day was also somewhat of a homecoming for many.

“I just talked with a girl I haven’t seen in years,” he said.

Michael Cappellini, executive vice president of the St. Ubaldo Society, said the runners in La Corsa dei Ceri run with their legs and their heart.

“This festival is a generational festival, a festival that continues to move forward year after year,” he said. “We’re growing year after year and the most important thing is seeing all of these young people coming out to honor the saints.”

Cappellini pointed out the race isn’t a competition.

“There’s no winner. St. Ubaldo himself, our patron saint, wins,” he said. “The people of Jessup win.”

Organizers come to the table each year with the Italian word “migliorare” in mind, which means to “make it better.”

“We continuing to make the festival more meaningful, sentimental and more like the mother festival in Gubbio,” he said.