the saint's day has long been an important celebration in the city, greatly overshadowing the municipality's actual anniversary - march 1st - with its masses, celebrations and processions on the 20th of march .

yearly, the festa do padroeiro kicks off with a eucharistic celebration, presided over by the archbishop of rio de janeiro, which leads into a procession of more than 200,000 people, running from the igreja dos capuchinhos in the tijuca neighborhood to the catedral metropolitanea in the center of town.  

celebrants wear red and white, the colors traditionally associated with the saint, throw flower petals and ask for protection and guidance from the saint in the year to come.