The origin of the procession dates to 1914 (during the First World War). During the month of November, the Ottoman authorities appeared in the Stella Maris monastery (Mount Carmel), notifying the religious men that in three hours they had to leave the monastery, because it was going to be taken up by the Ottoman army. The Carmelites took to safety the cult items.
Meanwhile, the Haifa inhabitants asked the Superior to allow them to take the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel from Stella Maris to Saint Joseph parish, in the Haifa Bay because, facing the continuous bombardments of the French and English ships, they hope to have refuge and protection from Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
After the war, the Haifa population, spontaneously and as thanksgiving, brought back – this time by means of a procession, accompanied by prayers and thanksgiving songs – the statue in its sanctuary in Stella Maris. Since 1919, fifteen days after the Easter (3rd Easter Sunday) this procession is repeated every year. At the very beginning, it was a local procession (in Haifa), some time after, it became regional (the whole Galilea), and nowadays it is celebrated all around Holy Land, being the second most important procession, after the Jerusalem Procession of the Palms.
