Bavarian town honors horses’ patron saint in procession

By: 7 years ago

A woman in her costume of the region salutes with liqueur as she sits in a horse-drawn carriage during the traditional Leonhardi pilgrimage in Warngau, Germany, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017. The annual pilgrimage honors St. Leonhard, patron saint of the highland farmers for horses and livestock. (AP Photo)

WARNGAU, Germany – Townspeople and farmers in the small Bavarian town of Warngau have donned traditional costumes for their annual procession in horse-drawn carriages to a local church in honor of St. Leonard, considered the patron saint of horses and livestock.

The “Leonhardi pilgrimage,” which was revived in the town south of Munich in 1983 after an 80-year break, takes place every year on the fourth Sunday in October.

In a rainy weather on Sunday, participants huddled under umbrellas in their carriages.

Similar processions are held in several other southern German towns. /kga