JESSUP, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Hours before the running of the saints, another race tradition took place. A mass was held at the Saint Ubaldo Cultural Center in Jessup.
It honors Saint Ubaldo, who was a bishop of Gubbio, Italy.
He is credited with saving the town from an invasion by 12th-century emperor Frederick Barbarossa by pleading with the emperor's army to spare the people he represented.
Expect a cool, soggy Memorial Day weekend
"We come here and have the mass, which is a very important part of the day because that's what all this is all about, as father said, the saints that are behind all of this and that we honor," Jessup resident Bonnie Urzen told 28/22 News.
Jessup and Gubbio are the only two communities in the world that hold a day dedicated to celebrating Saint Ubaldo.
