The Sanctuary of Sorrowful is the church of Sant’Agostino, existing already in the twelfth century. under the name of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia, is lapped by the sea and stands, almost hidden, among the high buildings of modern Marina district. The church has always been a place of worship for seafarers. At the beginning of the seventeenth century it was the seat of Augustinian Fathers.
The church was restored several times, retains original architectural elements to probably date back to the first half of the 19th century. On the prospectus there is a rosette with artistically designed stained glass window, surmounted by a coat of arms bearing a pierced heart.
A stone cross was placed to guard the church in 1808 and the churchyard is closed by a gate. Next to church is located the monument that remembers the victims of the motor ship “Seagull” shipwrecked in 1974.
The interior of the church consists of a classical style main altar and two side altars, on which are placed a crucifix of the 1700 and a canvas of the seventeenth century depicting “Madonna with the Child and Agostino and Monica saints”. The presbytery is occupied on the sides by two canvases from the early twentieth century depicting Saint Agostino and Saint Gregorio the Great.
The main altar contains the miraculous and expressive statue of Sorrowful Madonna of the XVIII century. The statue is located under an arc decorated with seven small round, “The seven pains of the Virgin”, attributed to Giuseppe Spina.
The church of Sant’Agostino is mainly linked to the cult of ADDOLORATA (Our Lady of Sorrows) and its mysterious finding. It is said that at the end of the eighteenth century a ship, in the grip of a storm, was sinking in the sea in front of river. The dockers came to the aid and noticed, inside ship, a large cargo containing the statue of Sorrow.
The crew, having escaped the danger, thanked the locals and decided to leave, but could not get back out of the water because of that big cargo. Thus was given to Licata people the statue considered miraculous. For this extraordinary fact in April 1973 the church of Saint Agostino became sanctuary with the title of “Vergine SS. Addolorata” (Our Vergin Lady of Sorrows).
