The Mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, argues that the festivities and devotion to the Holy Spirit inspire society to follow a path of “peace” and “love for one’s neighbor.”

“With each passing year, through the celebration of the Festas do Divino Espírito Santo (Holy Spirit Festivities) in all the parishes of our municipality and, at its culmination, with the great festivities that are now taking place, devotion to the Holy Trinity renews our purpose and encourages us to walk together in harmony for peace, which is always possible when we live and act faithfully to the values of tolerance, solidarity, and love for our neighbor,” he emphasized.

Pedro Nascimento Cabral was speaking on Thursday at the Inaugural Conference of the 21st Great Festivities of the Holy Spirit of Ponta Delgada, in the Parish Church of São Sebastião, after a lecture given by the Rector of the Sanctuary of Santo Cristo dos Milagres, Canon Manuel Carlos Sousa Alves.

The Mayor of Ponta Delgada thanked the Rector of the Sanctuary for accepting the municipality’s invitation to be the speaker at the XXII Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo, speaking knowledgeably about the ancestral cult.

“I am deeply grateful for this lesson in wisdom and for sharing what was, is, and will continue to be the building of a people’s faith in honor of the Holy Spirit. Above all, I note the preservation of the memory that guarantees these festivities and the dignity they confer,” said the mayor.

Having expressed his great satisfaction at the fact that the Mother Church was filled with people and faithful for yet another Inaugural Conference, Pedro Nascimento Cabral highlighted the fervor and faith that the people continue to devote to the Holy Spirit, strengthening the Azorean identity.

“It is from the people that the greatest desire to pay homage to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity emerges. And it is, to a large extent, this centuries-old relationship that underlies our identity,” he maintained.

For Pedro Nascimento Cabral, devotion to the cult of the Holy Spirit is thus forged in the history of the Azores, symbolizing much of the cultural and religious matrix that has been consolidated in the nine islands of the archipelago since its settlement and throughout almost six centuries.

“Once a black and diffuse spot that took shape as land with the approach of ships, the first settlers came here to ‘sow’ a unique way of being and living in the middle of the North Atlantic. On these nine pieces of land, they experienced the wonders and hardships of nature. And yes, they raised their arms in fear of God so that a volcano would fall asleep, the storm would pass, or the sea would calm down,” recalled the mayor.

In this way, he added, the Azorean identity “took shape and soul,” guided by “the gifts of the Holy Spirit” and based on the values of “sharing, solidarity, and brotherhood.”

Emphasizing the “unifying” character of the cult of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity in the Azores and the fundamental involvement of the 24 parishes of Ponta Delgada in the Great Feasts of the Holy Spirit, Pedro Nascimento Cabral reiterated the dignified way in which the Azorean diaspora lives, dignifies, and projects the cult throughout the world.

“And in this celebration of faith we are together again. Once again, we pay homage to the Holy Spirit, praying that He will enlighten us all; that in this world overshadowed by Russia’s unspeakable invasion of Ukraine and by the Israeli-Arab conflict, whose dimensions are yet to be defined, His gifts will guide mankind in the essential search for peace,” he concluded.

The Inaugural Conference of the XXII Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo was enlivened by a concert by the Sinfonietta de Ponta Delgada, which premiered the Cantata Festiva, composed by Sérgio Azevedo.

From Press Release.

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.