The Great Feast of The Holy Ghost of New England will be held in Kennedy Park in Fall River, Massachusetts, from August 21 to 25, attracting more than 100,000 participants from across the country, Canada and abroad.
Established in Fall River in 1986, and held every year on the last weekend of August, the festival has become one of the largest ethnic festivals of New England, and also one of the largest Portuguese celebrations worldwide.
The Great Feast program includes the traditional Bodo de Leite consisting of a distribution of free food to the needy, religious and popular parades, a communal Holy Ghost Sopas meal open to the public, and many attractions including arts and crafts and live music.
Paulo Estêvão, Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities
This year, the guest of honor for the celebrations is Paulo Estêvão, the Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, representing the Government of the Azores.
He will complete a five-day official visit to the East Coast and meet with representatives of the Azorean communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
According to the official schedule, the visit begins with a community meeting at the House of the Azores of New England, in Fall River, which is expected to bring together several representatives from the Azorean communities of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, on August 22, at 7:00 pm local time, and a meeting with the Portuguese language media, namely the Portuguese Channel, Voz do Emigrant radio, WJFD radio station and the O Jonal news and Portuguese Times newspaper in New Bedford.
On the following day, at 7:00 pm, Paulo Estêvão will attend the official opening of the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England and the opening of the exhibitions of Azorean arts and crafts and Azorean products at Kennedy Park in Fall River.
He will participate in the Coronation Mass of the Great Feasts held at the Church of Senhor Santo Cristo, in Fall River, presided over by D. Armando Esteves Domingues, Bishop of Angra, Terceira Azores, followed by the Coronation Procession starting at 2:00 pm through the streets of the city of Fall River.
On Saturday, August 24, Paulo Estêvão will participate in the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England festivities including the traditional ethnographic parade, and meet the former president of the Rhode Island State Senate, São Miguel-born emigrant John Correia, in East Providence, Rhode Island.
For this visit, the Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities will be accompanied by the Regional Director for the diaspora communities, José Andrade.
A signing of a cooperation protocol is scheduled between the Government of the Azores and the Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS), an organization founded in 1991 whose mission is to support and promote the Portuguese American community interests.
The Great Feast president, Herberto Silva, serving his second tenure, has revealed that this year’s budget for the event organization is estimated at over $200,000. Full program details are available at the Great Feast website.
The Holy Ghost Festival is an old tradition celebrated in the nine islands of the Azores also celebrated abroad by the Azorean diaspora. The tradition is based on the celebration of Pentecost, observed by the Catholic church, which marks the establishment of the Christian era.
In Portugal, the tradition originated in the 14th Century by Queen Saint Isabel of Portugal (1271-1336). She was canonized as a Catholic saint in 1625, by Pope Urban VIII. Her feast day is July 8. She is celebrated as a peacemaker and for her devotion to the poor. She established orphanages and provided shelter for the homeless.
Fall River (MA), with a total population of 95,072, is home to the largest Portuguese American community (43.9%) in the United States, the majority claiming Azorean origin, mostly from São Miguel Island.
The Azores (population 250,000) is a region of Portugal composed of nine islands. The archipelago discovered by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976. The government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores includes the Legislative Assembly, composed of 57 elected deputies, elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term; the Regional Government and Presidency, with parliamentary legitimacy, composed of a President, a Vice-President and seven Regional Secretaries responsible for the Regional Government executive operations. The Autonomous Region of the Azores is represented in the Council of Ministers of the Central Government by a representative appointed by the President of Portugal. According to the latest US census over 1.3 million individuals of Portuguese descent live in the United States, the majority with roots in the Azores. It is estimated that over 20,000 US citizens live in Portugal.
