The Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities announced that, through the Regional Directorate for Communities, it will promote the 1st Global Forum of the Holy Spirit next week in Ponta Delgada, with speakers from Portugal, Brazil, the United States of America, and Canada. The Global Forum of the Holy Spirit, which will take place this July, August, and September, aims to accompany the three largest festivals representing this religious event in the Azores, North America, and South America, respectively: the Grande Festas do Divino Espírito Santo in Ponta Delgada, the Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo in New England (USA), and the Grande Festa do Ciclo do Divino de Santa Catarina (Brazil).

This initiative aims to reinforce and enhance what is considered the common identity of all Azoreans in its religious, cultural, social, and economic dimensions, recognizing and praising the differences and similarities of its multiple transatlantic manifestations. To this end, the Global Forum of the Holy Spirit brings together a panel of personalities who will address the scientific and organizational components of the Holy Spirit festivals in the Azores and the Diaspora, focusing their presentations on the specificities and characteristics of the respective celebrations in the Azores, Brazil, Canada, and the United States of America.

The first part of the event will take place on July 10 and 11 in the auditorium of the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility, and Infrastructure in Ponta Delgada, with admission to the general public being free. The opening session, scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on July 10, will be attended by José Andrade, Regional Director of Communities, and the mayors of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, and Alenquer, Pedro Folgado. This will be followed by presentations from the first session of the Forum by Pedro Furtado, coordinator of the Great Festivities of the Holy Spirit of Ponta Delgada, Márcia Sousa da Ponte, president of the Great Festivities of the Holy Spirit of New England, and Roseli Pereira, coordinator of the Divine Cycle of Santa Catarina. On the second day, July 11, also from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., João Leal, Professor at the University of Lisbon, will speak about the Holy Spirit festivals in Portugal and the Americas; Lélia Nunes, director of Cultural Heritage at the Catarinense Culture Foundation, will dedicate her presentation to these festivities in Brazil; António Goulart, researcher of Azorean culture in the State of California, will address this popular cult in the United States of America; and Ilda Januário, professor at the University of Toronto, will focus her presentation on the religious celebrations of the Azorean communities in Canada.

In addition to the audience in attendance, the sessions will be broadcast live on the “Comunidades Açores” page on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the Azores Government’s YouTube channel. This initiative builds on the efforts made by the Azores Government to strengthen and enhance the ties that unite the Region and its diaspora, in this case through one of the manifestations that best identifies the Azorean people, wherever they may be.

In Correio dos Açores, Natalino Viveiros-director

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.