The city of Fall River, in the state of Massachusetts, United States of America, will host the second part of the First Global Forum of the Holy Spirit, with two sessions scheduled for August 25 and 26.

After Ponta Delgada was the starting point for the Global Forum of the Holy Spirit, during the city’s Great Feasts of the Holy Spirit last July, the initiative promoted by the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, through the Regional Directorate for Communities, returns to bring together a group of experts on the theme of the cult of the Holy Spirit, who will share their knowledge about its organization and celebrations in Brazil, Canada, the United States, mainland Portugal, and the Azores.

The forum sessions aim to reinforce and enhance the religious, cultural, social, and economic dimensions, recognizing and highlighting the differences and similarities of the multiple transatlantic manifestations of the common identity shared by all Azoreans.

In Fall River, the First Global Forum of the Holy Spirit will take place at the Casa dos Açores de Nova Inglaterra. The opening session, scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on August 25, will be attended by the President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Luís Garcia, the Regional Director of Communities, José Andrade, the Mayor of Alenquer, Pedro Folgado, and the President of the Casa dos Açores de Nova Inglaterra, Francisco Viveiros.

This will be followed by the first session of the forum, with presentations by Pedro Furtado, coordinator of the Grandes Festas do Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, Márcia Sousa da Ponte, president of the Grandes Festas do Espírito Santo da Nova Inglaterra, and Roseli Pereira, coordinator of the Ciclo do Divino de Santa Catarina.

The second session, scheduled for August 26, also at 10:00 a.m., will be dedicated to the Holy Spirit festivals in Portugal, Brazil, the United States, and Canada, with presentations by Hélder Fonseca Mendes, Lélia Nunes, Tony Goulart, and Ilda Januário, respectively.

The Global Forum of the Holy Spirit aims to follow the three largest festivals representing this religious manifestation in the Azores, North America, and South America, respectively: the Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, the Grandes Festas do Divino Espírito Santo da Nova Inglaterra (USA), and the Grande Festa do Ciclo do Divino de Santa Catarina (Brazil).

This initiative continues the work of the Government of the Azores to strengthen and enhance the ties that bind the region to its diaspora, in this case, through one of the most representative manifestations of Azorean identity.

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.