The manna of San Nicola, once a year

On the evening of May 9 every year, half a liter of liquid is drawn from the tomb of Saint Nicholas in the crypt of the basilica at Bari, on the anniversary of the day the relics arrived in the city in 1087².

1 evening a year, half a liter

The manna is the liquid that collects in the tomb in the crypt, and it is drawn on the evening of May 9, in an average year half a liter.

An analysis in 1925 described water of unusual purity. Whether the source is miraculous or natural has been argued for centuries and the basilica does not close the argument, which is a more honest position than most shrines take.

The date is not arbitrary. May 9 is the anniversary of the arrival of the relics, so the rite and the founding event share a day.

What is actually in the bottle

The small bottles handed to the faithful contain holy water into which the manna drawn on May 9 has been poured, not liquid taken directly from the tomb.

The basilica says this itself. It is the sort of disclosure a shrine has no commercial reason to make, and it is worth repeating for anyone who has been sold a bottle elsewhere as pure manna.

Half a liter a year, distributed among the pilgrims who come to Bari over 12 months, could not work any other way. The arithmetic is the explanation.

1087: 62 men and 3 ships

The relics reached Bari from Myra, in Lycia, on May 9, 1087², carried by 62 sailors and merchants of the city in 3 ships.

Building of the basilica began on July 8, 1089², commissioned by the Benedictine abbot Elia, who became archbishop of Bari the same year. On October 1, 1089² Pope Urban II laid the relics under the altar of the crypt.

So the crypt was finished and in use before the church above it. The building grew upward around a tomb that was already receiving visitors.

Saint Nicholas of Myra is the figure Santa Claus descends from. The bones are in Bari, and they have been since 1087².

The 2026 calendar: April 20 to May 22

The 2026 feast runs from April 20 to May 22, with its core on May 7 to 9 and a novena from April 29 to May 7. It marks the 939³th anniversary of the translation.

May 7 is the historic procession, leaving Piazza Federico II di Svevia at 20:30 and reaching Piazza San Nicola at 22:30. May 8 is the sea procession: boarding from the Molo San Nicola at 06:45, blessing of the sea at 10:00, with a display by the Frecce Tricolori.

May 9 carries the rite itself, with a concelebrated mass at 18:00 and the drawing of the manna. On May 22, 2026 the Orthodox calendar celebration takes place, because Bari is a pilgrimage site for the Orthodox world as much as for the Catholic one.

The times move, the dates do not

May 7 to 9 is stable from year to year, and it is the exact hours that need rechecking each spring.

The 2026 programme above comes from the basilica's own publication. No page of the Comune di Bari with the same programme could be found to confirm it independently, so treat the hours as the basilica's and verify them close to the date.

If you are planning a trip around this, book on the dates and leave the hours flexible. The one thing that will not change is that the manna is drawn on the evening of May 9, as it has been on the anniversary of a May day in 1087².

One more caution about the 3 days. The historic procession on May 7 and the sea procession on May 8 are large public events in a city center, and the 06:45 boarding on May 8 means the waterfront is busy before dawn breaks properly. Neither is a spectator show with seating.

For the rest of the city, see Bari.

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