September 3, 2024

Annual Festa Mass and procession draws thousands

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

LUDLOW – Thousands of people covered the lawn leading up to the chapel on the grounds of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Ludlow for the annual Festa Mass and procession, Sunday, Sept. 1 at 6:30 p.m. This year marked the 76^th anniversary of the parish. Festa celebrates Portuguese faith and culture.

“We celebrate this feast here in Ludlow, because this was the actual founding date 76 years ago. And the message of Fatima is really a message of God’s divine mercy and his desire for conversion of hearts towards Him, so that no one will perish, no one will be condemned, but turn to God. Our God is so good, so merciful and He wants no one to perish. He wants everyone to receive the salvation he prepared for all of us, when he created us out of love,” said Conventual Franciscan Friar Pedro de Oliveira, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish.

The Mass is the pinnacle of the five-day festival which ran from Thursday, Aug. 29-Monday, Sept. 2. Festa, a fundraiser for the parish, also features a carnival, food and entertainment. People travel from all over the Northeast each year to attend.

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Chrzaszcz of Krakow, who delivered his homily in Portuguese, was the principal celebrant at the Mass. Springfield Bishop William D. Byrne, Conventual Franciscan Friar Carlos de O. Charles of Brazil and Conventual Franciscan Friar Michael Heine, the minister provincial of the Our lady of Angles Province, were concelebrants.

“This is such a celebration of the richness of our church and the culture of the Portuguese speaking members of our community. It’s also a celebration for the whole town of Ludlow,” said Bishop Byrne.

After Mass, people lit candles and processed in the neighborhoods surrounding the church on Winsor Street in Ludlow, praying the rosary.

“Our Lady of Fatima is smiling down on us on this wonderful day. It’s always important to remember that a gathering like this where there is so much fun and family gathered around, that we are also children of God. Our Lady of Fatima told us to pray the Rosary, make good confessions, to pray for the world, and we can’t lose sight of that. As part of our celebration, we celebrate our salvation also,” said Bishop Byrne.

From May to October 1917, the Blessed Mother appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal: Lucia dos Santos, 10, and her two cousins, Jacinta, 7, and Francisco Marto, 9. The Blessed Mother told the children to pray the rosary daily for peace and to offer up their suffering for the conversion of souls. At the time of her appearances, the flu ravaged Europe and Portugal had entered World War I on the side of the Allies.

In 2017, Pope Francis canonized two of the Fatima children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Both children died from the flu. In 2023, Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, was declared venerable by the Church, further advancing the cause of sainthood.

“Mary is the mother of Jesus, right, so she is in essence our Mother,” said Patty Supczak, a longtime parishioner and cantor at Our Lady of Fatima Parish. She led the choir in singing hymns in both Portuguese and English.

“It combines all of our cultures, the Portuguese culture, the American culture. We have been doing this for 76 years. My family has been a part of of this for about 20 years or so,” said Supczak, who along with her family, volunteered throughout the entire weekend at the festival.

Following the procession, people placed candles in front of the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, just down the hill from the chapel.

“She (Mary) wants us to invite one another to move our hearts towards God and away from sin and to pray for peace,” said Friar de Oliveira. “Not just peace to end world wars which is part of the message of Fatima, but also when we turn away from sin and align our hearts and minds with the will of God, we will experience interior peace,” he said.

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 on WWLP-22NEWS.