Eight strong bearers would have been needed to carry the statue of the plague saint San Rocco through the streets of Montecchio Precalcino.
But this Sunday, the traditional procession in the small northern Italian town not far from Vicenza has been cancelled, according to local media reports.
The parish priest, Don Lido Bedin, has announced that only the Sunday mass on the saint's feast day will be celebrated in the church dedicated to him.
There are many reasons for the cancellation of the tradition, which was revived in 2022 after the coronavirus pandemic.
Firstly, as the parish priest told Corriere del Veneto, there were not enough volunteers to carry the heavy statue of the saint.
In addition, the steep road and the damaged stairs to the church, which is situated on a hill, posed particular challenges for the bearers.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the town, Fabrizio Parisotto, announced that the stairs would be repaired so that the procession could take place again. - St Roch (died 1379) is venerated in many places in Europe as a saint of the plague.
His feast day is 16 August, but it is often not celebrated until the following Sunday.