On the Feast of the Portiuncula, August 2, 2026, Korčula once again became the center of a unique religious and cultural event, the boat procession to the island of Badija, preserving a custom over four centuries old.
This year, on the feast of Our Lady of the Angels on August 2, 2026, Korčula hosted the unique centuries-old boat procession known as Perdun. This exceptional religious and cultural event, held on the Feast of the Portiuncula, attracted numerous faithful and tourists eager to experience a tradition dating back to the 16th century.
The origin of this feast is linked to Saint Francis of Assisi, who, according to tradition, experienced his conversion on August 2, 1208, in the small church of Saint Mary of the Angels in Assisi. Prompted by this experience, he asked Pope Honorius III to declare the church a place of plenary indulgence from temporal punishment, which the pope did in 1216.
The small church still exists today, nestled within the magnificent Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, the most important church of the Franciscan Order. The basilica was commissioned in the 16th century by Pope Pius V, and in the early 20th century, Pope Pius X elevated it to its current status. Later, it was decreed that the plenary indulgence on the feast of Our Lady of the Angels could be obtained in any Franciscan church, from noon on August 1 to midnight on August 2, under the conditions of contrite confession, communion, and prayer.
The procession began at Korčula's Cathedral of St. Mark, from where the people of Korčula set out with the miraculous image of Our Lady toward the nearby island of Badija. Numerous faithful and members of the famous Korčula confraternities boarded flower-adorned boats that ferried them to their destination. Upon arrival at Badija, a procession formed from the bridge to the Church of the Assumption of Mary, where the faithful had the opportunity to go to confession in the monastery cloister before the solemn Mass and the return to Korčula.
The boat pilgrimage from Korčula to Badija, according to the accounts of older Korčula residents, began as early as the 16th century. However, this tradition was forcibly interrupted after World War II, when the island of Badija was desacralized and taken from the Franciscans, and the Perdun itself was abolished. The restoration of this ancient feast occurred only in 1993.
Older locals remember how, before the war, the entire island and the Pelješac peninsula made the pilgrimage to Badija by boat. On St. Nicholas Day, the people of Korčula would welcome boats from Blato and Vela Luka that arrived the night before, and along the way, the faithful in the boats would sing folk hymns. Some of these customs have been preserved to this day, and this year's Perdun atmosphere was captured by Korčula photographer Tomislav Samošćanec.
Since the event takes place in the midst of the tourist season, this Catholic feast, which the people of Korčula have made even more unusual by boarding boats with the image of Our Lady, also offers a unique experience for the many guests and tourists visiting the town.
