Today, thousands of pilgrims are expected in Ponta Delgada to go to the traditional Moving of the Statue of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres around Campo de S. Francisco.
Today’s program begins at 8 a.m. with Mass for the pilgrims, then Mass at the Shrine of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres at 9 a.m. and half an hour later Mass at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, presided over by the Bishop of the Diocese of Angra, D. Armando Esteves Domingues.
At 4.20 p.m., the Provider knocks on the Royal Door with a Te Deum, followed by the Procession of the Changing of the Image, passing in front of the Guard of Honor provided by a company of the Army and Band of the Azores Military Zone (4.45 p.m.), with a salute by a Navy corvette.
The route of changing the image will be in the same direction as in recent years: streets N-S, E-W, S-N, and W-E of Campo de S. Francisco.
At 6pm Sermon by the Bishop of Stockton, Myron Cotta, followed at 7pm by the Moving of the Statue from the Churchyard to the Church of São José, 7.30pm Mass at São José Presided over by the parish priest, Father Duarte Melo, 8pm Opening of the Bazaar of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, 9pm/22.15pm Festival and concert by the Sociedade Recreio de Instrução e Recreio os Artistas, 10.30pm Firework display from the Dock Wall, 10.45pm/00. 00 Concert by the Banda Lira de Nª. Sª. Da Oliveira.

Tomorrow (Sunday), there is a solemn mass in the Sanctuary churchyard

Tomorrow, the main day of the festivities, there will be Mass at 00:00 in St. Joseph’s, presided over by the Bishop of the Diocese of Angra, D. Armando Esteves Domingues.
The Mass will be followed by the beginning of the Vigil in Honor of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres.
The following program follows:
06:00 – Dawn with mortar salute Pilgrims’ Mass
08:00 – English Mass in the Church of São José presided over by Father Larry Machado
09:15 – Departure of the statue from the Church of São José to the Sanctuary churchyard
09:30—Solemn Eucharistic Concelebration in the Shrine’s Churchyard, with the statue of the Lord Saint Christ of Miracles, presided over by Bishop Myron Cotta of Stockton.
12:00 to 14:00 – Period of veneration of the statue on display at the main door of the shrine
15:30 – Departure of the Procession Guide, which will follow the usual route
16:30 – Departure of the Statue of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres
21:45 – Collection of the Statue of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Main Door)
22:00 – Opening of the Bazaar of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres
22:30/23:30 – Festival and Concert by the Sociedade Recreio de Instrução e Recreio os Artistas.

The Bishop of Stockton in California presides, and Mass will be in English.

The rector of the Shrine of Our Lord the Holy Christ invites everyone to “take part in the festivities”, this year presided over by an American bishop of Azorean descent.
“The Church is for everyone. Everyone is invited to take part in the feast, everyone is called to pay their respects to the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres, because it is important that we all walk together and with commitment to build a better world,” said Canon Manuel Carlos Alves at the press conference, echoing Pope Francis’s words at World Youth Day (WYD) Lisbon 2023.
Bishop Myron Cotta of Stockton, a diocese in California, will preside over the feasts of Our Lady of Miracles.
The Catholic leader, born in the United States, is the son of Azoreans and the 20th bishop of Azorean origin in the USA.
The program also includes an English Mass on Sunday, the 5th, at 8 a.m. local time, in the parish church of São José, “for tourists and some immigrants who have difficulty understanding Portuguese.”
Tonight, after the moving procession, the image of Our Lord, the Holy Christ, will remain in the parish church of São José for the Night Vigil, and “ecclesial movements will be invited for animation and prayer.”

Faith is not an adherence to a doctrine.

Faith “is not an adherence to a doctrine” or the fulfillment of rituals, but an encounter with Jesus, which touches the intimacy of each person, said Father José Frazão Correia on the second day of preaching at the preparatory triduum for the feast of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres, which runs until May 9 in Ponta Delgada, according to a note from Igreja Açores.
“Often we put faith next to life, above it or beyond it; we can’t bring it to life because we find it difficult to marry faith with life,” said the preacher of this triduum, who yesterday centered his reflection on Luke’s Gospel account of the road to Emmaus.
“This biblical episode places faith at the axis of life because, in the encounter with Jesus, the disciples are confronted with their concrete reality,” he said, stressing that, like the disciples, Christians must make this journey, “allowing themselves to be touched by their circumstances, good or bad, by the truth of each person’s life, not the desired or supposed but the concrete life.”
“May this feast make us believe that the Lord gives life; that in contemplating the Lord, in this representation, we may be challenged in our reality and that this recognition may be a source of joy as it was with the disciples,” he said, asking for “honesty and truth.”
“Let us allow ourselves to be infected by this miracle of giving one’s life out of love,” he concluded.

from Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.

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