Feast of St Blaise in Dubrovnik 2027: Dates and Procession

The Feast of St Blaise opens in Dubrovnik on the afternoon of Tuesday 2 February 2027 and peaks on Wednesday 3 February, when the saint’s relics are carried through the city, the centrepiece of a festivity listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage since 2009. The organiser, the Dubrovnik Diocese, hadn’t published the 2027 programme on 24 October 2026, so every time below comes from the 2026 edition: a guide to the shape of the two days, not a schedule.

No London nonstop lands in Dubrovnik on 2 or 3 February 2027, on either Ryanair’s timetable or the airport’s winter table. The nearest are Sunday 31 January and Friday 5 February, so book the flight first and fit the ceremony around it.

What the 2026 programme looked like

The diocese runs the Feast from its own site, festa.hr. Here’s the 2026 programme as it stood there, with the days of the week for 2026:

A January 2026 lecture in the programme marked 1,000 years since the relic of the saint’s head was brought to Dubrovnik, so some 2026 extras may not return. The two fixed points are the 2 February opening and the 3 February procession, because both follow the calendar of the church year. In 2027 they fall on a Tuesday and a Wednesday.

The opening on 2 February

Candlemas is the day before the saint’s day, and the diocese describes the opening as an early-afternoon ceremony on the square in front of the Baroque Church of St Blaise. City banners and a crowd gather. White doves are released, greetings from Dubrovnik people at home and abroad are read out, and a white flag goes up on Orlando’s Column while the hymn to the saint plays. What it’s all built around is the Laus, a short prayer-greeting that calls on the heavenly saints to help the city and give it “life, victory, peace and abundance” and ends with the shout Živio sveti Vlaho - long live St Blaise.

Under the Republic, the grand admiral of its navy spoke those words while raising the saint’s red flag. Since 1972 it has usually been the bishop. UNESCO’s entry describes the eve of the feast as an evening when all the church bells ring, white doves go up as symbols of peace and worshippers gather for a ritual healing of the throat. The 2026 programme, though, put the doves and the flag at 15:30, so be on the square in the afternoon rather than waiting for the evening.

The procession on 3 February

On the day itself, the 2026 programme started with a pontifical Mass at 10:00. A traditional procession through the city followed it, with the relics of St Blaise and other saints, and the relic of Christ’s swaddling cloth carried under the canopy. UNESCO adds the colour: parish banner bearers in folk costume come into the city for it, joined by bishops, ambassadors and civic leaders, and the festivity includes the making of the historical weapons fired in celebration. At 15:30 the banners make their traditional salute to the bishop and the cathedral.

It’s a religious ceremony for the city, so don’t expect a staged show with seating. The diocese’s proclamation is addressed to the whole people of the city, the diocese, the homeland and the world, and nothing in the 2026 programme mentions tickets. Expect Croatian. In 2026 the Mass was broadcast live by Croatian Television and the procession on the diocese’s YouTube channel, which is a sensible fallback if your flight plans fall through.

The diocese’s own history gives each part of the Feast its own date. The tradition counts its protection from the year 972, but Mass in the open air only began in 1972, the procession in its present form is about 250 years old, and the lay organisers, the festanjuli, have been chosen the current way since 1873. Orlando’s Column, where the flag goes up, was set in place in 1419. UNESCO’s text says the ritual goes back in some form to at least 1190. It’s the city’s own ceremony, and it has been reshaped more than once.

Fitting the two days together

If 2027 follows the 2026 shape, Tuesday 2 February is a short afternoon: the opening at 15:30, then vespers in the cathedral at 17:30. That leaves the morning free, and the two events are close enough that you can do both without leaving the Old Town. Wednesday 3 February is the long day. The Mass starts at 10:00, the programme gives no end time for the procession that follows, and the banners meet again at 15:30. Keep the whole day loose, and don’t book a walls ticket or a boat for the middle of it before the 2027 hours are out.

The festivity also runs well beyond the two main days. The 2026 devotion began on 30 January, and the closing came on Sunday 8 February with the lowering of the saint’s flag in front of the church and a Mass inside it. UNESCO’s description covers the lot, “from rituals to folk songs, from performance to traditional crafts”, which is a fair summary of why a week can hold more than a single procession.

Lokrum and the days around the Feast

Lokrum is the one extra worth checking. After its last sailing day on 14 December 2025, the island stayed closed until the Feast, then opened from 31 January to 3 February 2026 with free admission for every visitor, and ran weekends only until 31 March. The notice with the dates was published on 23 January 2026, eight days before the opening. lokrum.hr had no notice for 2027 on 24 October 2026, so don’t build a day around the island yet; the Lokrum guide has the regular season.

The morning of 2 February is free, and the Dubrovnik travel guide and the one day in Dubrovnik route are where to find something for it in the Old Town. Winter hours differ from summer ones, so check each operator’s own page for early February 2027 once they publish it. For early-February weather, see Croatia in winter. If you’re chasing the whole season, Rijeka’s International Carnival Parade is on Sunday 7 February 2027 at the other end of the coast, and the Rijeka Carnival guide has the dates.

Getting there in winter

From London, the Ryanair days from Stansted around the Feast are Friday 29 January, Sunday 31 January, Friday 5 February and Sunday 7 February 2027, with nothing on the 2nd and 3rd. easyJet’s Gatwick flights come back on 13 February, and British Airways is on its winter break until March. London to Dubrovnik flights has the times. Sunday 31 January out and Friday 5 February back gives five nights and covers both days of the Feast. Via Zagreb, Croatia Airlines’ London page lists the Heathrow leg on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with Saturdays added from 4 January to 27 March 2027, so Saturday 30 January and Monday 1 February are the connections to check if neither Ryanair day suits you.

From North America you’ll connect in Europe anyway. The airport’s winter table lists Croatia Airlines from Frankfurt on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, landing at 21:15, and from Zagreb every day. A 21:15 landing on Tuesday 2 February is too late for the opening, so arrive by Monday. Where to stay in Dubrovnik covers where to sleep for the two days.

What to check in January 2027

Three things were still open on 24 October 2026. Here is what the first two showed in 2026:

So the flights are the part to settle now, and the exact hour of the procession and the Lokrum day can wait for the January notices.