PROVIDENCE — The annual Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Feast began on a bittersweet note this year, with Archbishop-elect Richard G. Henning’s pastoral visit coming shortly after the announcement of his appointment by Pope Francis as the next archbishop of Boston.
When welcoming Archbishop-elect Bishop Henning, Father Joseph Escobar, pastor, noted how he has done much for the Portuguese Catholic community in Rhode Island.
“This evening, we’re very happy to welcome Bishop Henning to our parish,” said Father Escobar at the beginning of the Mass, on Aug. 10. “He’s been with us for 14 months, and we’re certainly very grateful to him for the leadership he’s given us in those months, and for the attention and care he has for the Portuguese community.”
Since the parish is one of the historically Portuguese parishes in the Diocese of Providence, the first Mass of the festival was celebrated in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, and was bilingual, with prayers recited in both English and Portuguese.
In his homily, Archbishop-elect Henning reflected on the fact that the Church’s devotion to Our Lady is a tradition that dates back to its earliest days, and is something that at that time was viewed as counter-cultural.
“If you go into any Catholic church, anywhere around the world, in every culture and every language, you will know that you are in a Catholic church. And one of the signs that you are in a Catholic church is you will see images of our Blessed Mother,” Archbishop-elect Henning said.
“Centuries ago, women rarely exercised that kind of worldly authority. In fact, many cultures, including the culture of the Ancient Jewish people, thought that women should not exercise authority, that they were weaker than men. It’s a bit strange, in those ancient times, that in that culture with its prejudices, the Catholic church would embrace the image of a woman as its primary sign of the nature, the identity of the faith,” he said.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is a prominent symbol of the Catholic faith in spite of the lower view that many ancient cultures held of women. Many famous Marian apparitions, including Our Lady of Fatima, emphasized God’s special care for the poor and marginalized.
“In each instance, Our Mother never goes to presidential palaces, or congressional halls, or the headquarters of a corporation. She appears to peasants, to shepherds, the poor, the little children, those who have no authority in the worldly sense whatsoever,” he said.
The Archbishop-elect went on to note that another reason why the Blessed Virgin plays an important symbolic role in the Church is because, as a mother, Mary profoundly points towards the life-giving nature of God, and how this life is shared with us in the most profound manner in the obedience of discipleship, something that Mary exemplified in a particular manner as the “first and best disciple of Her Son, Jesus.”
After Mass on each day of the festival, a procession took place along the streets adjacent to the parish. On the first day of celebrations, those present processed with a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, during which the rosary was recited. The procession ended with Eucharistic Benediction led by Father Escobar.
Similar religious processions took place throughout the weekend, with Mass and other liturgical celebrations preceded and followed by carnival-style activities, food trucks, the making of traditional Portuguese food, and bands performing both popular and traditional folk music from Portugal.
Our Lady of the Rosary Parish began in the late 1870s as a mission church to minister to the nascent Portuguese community in Providence and was officially established as a canonically distinct parish in 1886. Construction of the parish began in 1897, and the parish building was dedicated in 1906.
Because of its historical significance, Our Lady of the Rosary’s parish feast has normally attracted attendants from the Portuguese community throughout Rhode Island, but unfortunately many of the event organizers feared that this year’s numbers would be low due to the disruption of traffic caused by the renovation of the Washington Bridge. Due to light rain on Friday, numbers were slightly lower than expected, but Father Escobar noted later that attendance was roughly double or triple on Saturday and Sunday.
Those in attendance saw the day’s events as both spiritually moving as well as culturally significant. “I think it’s very special,” said parishioner Elisa Thibeault on the archbishop-elect’s visit. “He’s a wonderful preacher, and so I think it added something special to our feast.”
“The Portuguese people have a strong devotion to Our Lady, in particular Our Lady of Fatima. I just think of the strong devotion of the Portuguese people,” Thibeault continued, describing the spiritual significance of the feast.
Father Escobar was pleased that Archbishop-elect Henning, who speaks Spanish fluently, also has been studying Portuguese to better meet the needs of his flock.
“We’re very happy to welcome Archbishop-elect Henning here to this celebration in honor of Our Lady,” said Father Escobar. “He practiced Portuguese to learn how to celebrate the Mass in Portuguese, so that was a great joy to the people, because they didn’t know he was going to do that. So, it’s a very nice surprise. We just pray that Our Lady blesses him and watches over him as he takes on that great responsibility in Boston.”
“It’s a beautiful celebration, and we hope it continues throughout the years,” said parishioner Philip Simoes. “We hope these traditions continue on with the younger generation, because it’s been just wonderful to get the community together and celebrate Our Lady and create funds for our parish,” said his wife Elia.
