Co-Cathedral Basilica of St Thomas the Apostle

Festivals and dates

• Perdono di San Tommaso (Pardon of St Thomas): early May (in 2026: 2-4 May, preceded by a novena) (Tra fede e tradizione, Ortona celebra il Perdono di San Tommaso - Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona)
• Liturgical feast of St Thomas the Apostle: 3 July (San Tommaso apostolo - calendario Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona)
• Spring
• Summer

From the island of Chios to Ortona

The relics of the Apostle Thomas have been kept in Ortona's cathedral since 6 September 1258. They were brought from Chios, in the Aegean, by the Ortonese captain Leone, and their arrival is told by a 16th-century Venetian bas-relief showing the galley landing in the town's harbour. John Paul II, writing to the Archbishop of Lanciano-Ortona, recalled that according to a pious tradition the mortal remains of the Apostle are preserved in the co-cathedral.

The building's history is marked by the Second World War. Ortona lay at the eastern end of the Gustav Line and saw very harsh fighting; bombing razed the cathedral, which was rebuilt in the 20th century. Some old parts survived, such as the sculpted remains of the portals, very probably dating from the 13th century.

A long restoration, carried out in three phases from 2018, consolidated the roofs, vaults and façade and brought back to light the original green, pink and blue colouring of the group with the Virgin and Child and two saints.

Sources: Ortona - Italia.it · Sala 2 - Museo Diocesano di Ortona · Giovanni Paolo II, Lettera a Mons. Carlo Ghidelli, Arcivescovo di Lanciano-Ortona (4 ottobre 2004) · Finiti i lavori nella cattedrale di San Tommaso Apostolo ad Ortona - Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona

The 'twin' Apostle

St Thomas is the patron and protector of Ortona and co-patron of the archdiocese, which in the archbishop's words 'breathes with two lungs': the Madonna del Ponte in Lanciano and St Thomas in Ortona. The Gospel calls him Didymus, meaning 'twin', and the archbishop invokes him as a guide to being heralds and witnesses of the Risen Jesus.

John Paul II saw in him an encouragement always to seek the truth, even when darkness thickens, and entrusted the faith of the Frentani people to his intercession. The theme of forgiveness and mercy is at the heart of the main feast, which bears the very name Perdono (Pardon).

Sources: Tra fede e tradizione, Ortona celebra il Perdono di San Tommaso - Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona · Giovanni Paolo II, Lettera a Mons. Carlo Ghidelli, Arcivescovo di Lanciano-Ortona (4 ottobre 2004)

Cathedral, chapel and museum

The cathedral stands squeezed between the houses of the old town; the Apostle's relics are kept in a chapel, and the crypt hosts some of the feast's celebrations. The bust depicting St Thomas and containing his relics is the one carried in procession during the Perdono.

On the ground floor, in three large rooms created from former chapels, is the Diocesan Museum, opened on 13 December 2003. It gathers the heritage recovered from churches damaged in the war: paintings from the 15th to the 17th century, silverware, liturgical furnishings and finds. The second room features the works linked to the Apostle, including The Incredulity of St Thomas, an ex-voto commissioned in 1731 by the Municipality of Ortona from the Ferrara painter Giuseppe Lamberti after the town was spared by the plague, and the bas-relief of the relics' landing.

Leaving the old town you reach the Passeggiata Orientale, a long panoramic balcony over the Adriatic; the Aragonese Castle offers another view over the sea.

Sources: Ortona - Italia.it · Sala 2 - Museo Diocesano di Ortona · Tra fede e tradizione, Ortona celebra il Perdono di San Tommaso - Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona · Museo Diocesano di Ortona

The Perdono di San Tommaso

The Perdono is the most solemn feast dedicated to the Apostle and is celebrated in the co-cathedral basilica in early May, after a novena with preaching. In 2026, on Saturday 2 May, the archbishop received the silver keys that open the urn with the saint's bust, which is then displayed, and proclaimed the plenary indulgence of the Perdono.

On Sunday there are Masses led by the town's parishes, the welcoming of the 'Dono' (the first fruits of the area's main products), the solemn Mass and, in the evening, the procession of the bust containing the relics. Monday is devoted to the commemoration of the dead, with a Mass in the crypt.

The archdiocese's calendar also marks 3 July as the liturgical feast of St Thomas the Apostle.

Sources: Tra fede e tradizione, Ortona celebra il Perdono di San Tommaso - Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona · San Tommaso apostolo - calendario Arcidiocesi Lanciano Ortona

Visiting the basilica

The basilica is in Ortona's old town, on high ground above the sea; Ortona is the first town on the Costa dei Trabocchi, marked by the distinctive wooden structures once used for fishing.

The Diocesan Museum, on the cathedral's ground floor, welcomes individual visitors and groups; larger groups can book visits even on closing days, and the museum offers accompanied visits and support tools for accessibility.

Sources: Ortona - Italia.it · Museo Diocesano di Ortona

Walks that reach it

The place

Trabocchi Coast

The Chieti coastline between Ortona and Vasto, with some thirty wooden trabocchi and the hermitage where D’Annunzio stayed.

Read the guide →

Photo: Francesca Piersanti / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized and converted to WebP.