Suspected Mafia bosses are joining Easter celebrations in the Italian region of Calabria, even though they have been banned by the Catholic Church from doing so.

Priests say the Mafia stole their religious traditions to show who is in charge of the southern Italian town of Sant'Onofrio.

The Church has asked the group to stop carrying the statues, but the Mafia have literally stuck to their guns.

Claudio Lavanga reports from Sant'Onofrio.