Linguaglossa villagers' prayer for protection from Mount Etna lava

During a 1923 eruption of Mount Etna, the lava flow threatened the village of Linguaglossa. The inhabitants, led by their priest, prayed at a statue of St. Egidio for deliverance. The lava flow divided into two streams, bypassing the village walls. While the Millennial Star article notes that a later investigation attributed the division to a spur on the mountain, the local populace regarded it as an answer to prayer.

The 1923 eruption began on the night of June 16–17 at an altitude of 2,000 meters near Monte Nero. The lava flow covered 11 kilometers, threatening the villages of Cerro and Catena in addition to Linguaglossa, and cut the state road toward Randazzo. As the lava approached, the villagers brought the statue of their patron saint, Sant'Egidio, in a procession to the Cerro railway station to pray. On June 21, the statue was returned to the Mother Church to protect it from potential theft of its donated gold. The threat to the village subsided on June 25, and the eruption officially ceased on July 18.