The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, stressed at the Great Feast of the Holy Spirit in New England that this moment represents an “extraordinary manifestation of Azorean identity” that “honors the Azores in the United States of America and in the world.”
The statement was made at the official opening of the 38th annual edition of the most representative event of the Azorean community in the United States.
Paulo Estevão praised the “entrepreneurial capacity of the Azorean people wherever they are” and underlined the importance of the associative movement, “which is decisive for the preservation of Azoreanness” on that side of the Atlantic, thus paying tribute to the dedication of its leaders.
The government official left “a word of gratitude to the Azoreans who don’t forget their land”, and said that the Azorean government “is very proud of the emigrant communities.”
“They all represent us and dignify us outside our islands,” he said.
The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, who is also responsible for the media, took advantage of his first official trip to the United States to visit the different Portuguese-language media that serve the Azorean communities in New England.
During visits to the Portuguese Channel television station, WJFD radio and the Portuguese Times newspaper in New Bedford, Paulo Estevão acknowledged “the importance of the media in preserving the Portuguese language and enhancing the Azorean communities”.
For this reason, the Azorean president pledged to study the possibility of creating a program to support the media of the Azorean communities through institutional advertising that promotes the Azores, namely its tourist destination, Azorean products, and the different opportunities that the region offers to emigrants and their descendants.
As part of his intense program of contacts, the Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities also went to the State of Rhode Island to personally hand Azorean emigrant John Correia the Autonomous Insignia of Recognition that was officially awarded to him this year by the Legislative Assembly and the Regional Government on the Day of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
Paulo Estevão, accompanied by the Regional Director for Communities, José Andrade, paid tribute to the former president of the Rhode Island State Senate, a native of São Miguel Island, as the only Portuguese to have presided over a state senate in the United States of America.
Bishop of Angra presided over the blessing of the insignia and food for the feast of the Divine Holy Spirit in Fall River, MA
According to the Igreja Açores website, the 38th edition of the Great Feast of the Divine Holy Spirit of New England, in Fall River, began with the blessing of the Divine Holy Spirit insignia and 366 food parcels—consisting of meat, bread, and wine—that will be distributed to needy families in the Portuguese community.
“It’s up to me to bless these gifts that are for our table and that also feed others. Looking at these foods – bread, meat and wine – I feel like saying: thank you God for all the gifts you give us every day,” said Bishop Armando Esteves Domingues, who presided over the feast, participating for the first time in this festival that has been held since 1986, bringing together in Fall River a large part of the Portuguese-descendant community from all over the east coast of the United States.
“We invoke God’s blessing on this food, but God’s great blessing is man. We are the ones who take this bread and wine, we are the ones who distribute it, we are the ones who are able to give thanks and distribute it, and by distributing it, it multiplies a hundredfold, either in our pockets or in the pockets of others,” said the prelate, who left an ”embrace between the Diocese and this local Church.”
“It’s an honor to be invited for the first time. I ask that, in the name of God, we may be an instrument of fraternity and joy,” concluded the Bishop of Angra.
Celebrated annually since 1986, these are perhaps the most prominent religious festivals of the Azorean community living on the East Coast of the United States. They include an ethnographic parade, the distribution of pensions, a Mass with coronation, and a parade on Sunday.
This year’s festivities have Herberto Silva as their steward. For the second year running, he is organizing these festivities, which were started by Heitor de Sousa.
in Diário dos Açores, Osvaldo Cabral, director–photos from José Andrade (Facebook Page).
Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures 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.
Novidades - The Islands and the Diaspora 