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CHURCHS IN MILAZZO
A land of Saints and Miracles
In the figure on the left you can see the Church of the Holy Crucifix of San Papino with wooden altar decorated for the display of the Blessed Sacrament, during the period of Easter. this is an old Sicilian tradition, which is to put flowers and symbols of life on Holy Thursday to celebrate the institution of the Eucharist
Even the interior of the church is decorated with frescoes by Salvatore Gregoretti from Palermo. The main altar is a very valuable canopy that frames a canvas depicting the madonna of the angels, saint papino and other Franciscan saints, realized in the nineteenth century. .
In Milazzo you can visit also the sanctuary of St. Francis from Paola that was founded by the saint between 1456 and 1467, during construction the saint has performed many miracles, some of which still visibles. The temple was restored around the eighteenth century adjacent to the shrine there is a convent now used partly as a school and as the headquarters of the Military Police. Within the church there are many architectural works such as the chapel of the crucifix where lies the body of Blessed Candida Leonte, a virgin from Milazzo devoted to the saint. Important is the painting depicting the Madonna with St. Francis Xavier and the other Saints. . The
miracles of Saint Francis
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The church of the SS crucifix existed since the years 1566, having been restored by Thomas Leonte from Milazzo, who received a miracle from Saint Papino. At the right side of the church is the convent with a cloister. Initially it was to be an example of rare beauty, decorated with frescoes inspired by the life of Saint Francis. 
Very interesting is the second altar on the right devoted to SS Crucifix, that wept tears miraculously in 1708, a wooden sculpture by fra Umile from Pietralia.
Saint Francis from Paola has performed many miracles in his life at Milazzo. The Saint was very humble, but possessed an immense faith in the Lord. It is said that when he arrived at Milazzo, a person sentenced to death by hanging was loosed from the rope. The Holy man has ordered to the monk with him to cut the rope by which was hung. The body of the corpse fell into the arms of the Saint and the man was resurrected. So the condemned was converted to the faith and became a follower of the saint. Yet it is said that the Saint had the strength of eight men and one time during the building of the Church, Saint Francis took a heavy boulder, he blessed it and only can manage, hoisting up to the basement of Church, where now you can
see.