July 12, 2025

Rosary procession kicks off Italian feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – With great joy and pride, the Italian-American community of Springfield gathered at Casa Italiana, the newly restored Italian Social Club on Winthrop Street on Friday, July 11, to celebrate the return of “La Festa.” It has been 20 years since the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian feast has been held in the South End. To kick it off, the faithful began with prayer, praying the rosary and processing down Main Street to the statue of Christopher Columbus.

“Sometimes we nickname this just an Italian feast. But in reality, it’s the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. So, the tradition that goes back over 100 years is that as Catholics we have a vigil. So, tonight’s vigil is based on honoring the Blessed Mother, honoring the Christ-child. And so, what we’re trying to do is to remind us and to prepare us spiritually for what we are about to encounter over theses next couple of days,” said Sal Circosta, a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish and president of St. Padre Pio 3013, Sons and Daughters of Italy.

The Sons and Daughters of Italy and Societe della Madonna del Carmine joined together to bring back the feast. They held a ribbon cutting ceremony in June to celebrate the grand-opening of Casa Italiana, where the feast is being held July 12-13, from 2-10 p.m. “La Festa” will feature traditional Italian food, games, music and rides. Another procession will be held Sunday, July 13, after the 10:30 a.m. Mass at nearby Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish on Williams Street.

“I am very, very excited. Look at this. This is about bringing people together, not only Italians but the whole neighborhood. The Italian culture is Catholic, we believe in the saints, we believe in Jesus Christ and this is what it is all about,” said Anna Daniele, the president of the feast committee.

Before the procession stepped off there was a threat of thunderstorms, but they never came. Under pink skies, Stigmatine Father Robert White, CSS, the pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, did an opening blessing and the rosary began.

“Tonight we do the procession with the candles because the candles are the light of Jesus,” said Stigmatine Father Paolo Bagattini, CSS, the pastoral associate at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish. Father Bagattini led the rosary.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is the patron saint of the Carmelite order. During the 12^th century, a group of monks formed the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel on Mount Carmel in Israel. Fearing persecution in the Holy Land in the 13^th century, most of the monks settled in Europe. There have been apparitions of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Spain, Portugal, Italy and England where Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock. According to tradition, she gave him the brown scapular, worn by Carmelites as a sign of protection.

To learn more and purchase tickets, go to https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/springfielditalians/2025-mt-carmel-italian-feast-springfield