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A special ceremony was recently held at the National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania, marking the enthronement of the Holy Face of Manoppello (Abruzzo). This sacred image will now be on permanent display in the American church. The Mass, celebrated on July 15, was led by Bishop Alfred Schlert of the Diocese of Allentown and Father Anton...

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The Feast of San Gennaro will return to downtown Danbury for its fourth annual celebration from Aug. 20–24, featuring food, music, fireworks, and cultural festivities centered on Italian heritage. Organizers have named Antonia “Tonina” Chieffalo as the 2025 Grand Marshal. A longtime Danbury resident and member of the Amerigo Vespucci Lodge for 60 y...

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Summer in Boston’s oldest neighborhood means one thing—it’s time to celebrate Italian-style with the various feasts and processions that take over the area’s ancient, cobblestoned streets. Brought to these shores decades ago by the waves of Italian immigrants that populated the North End beginning in the early 20th century, these religious festival...

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A few days before Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s annual feast, there was some concern if the weather would hold. But at the start of Sunday’s mass, the last gray clouds were long gone — and this has happened many times before in the 135 years of the parish’s history. “If the blessed mother wants it to happen, she’ll make it happen,” said Eric Lavin, a...

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There is a moment when Brooklyn feels like a scene straight out of The Godfather: the band playing, men in white shirts and gold chains, the smell of grilled sausage, and an atmosphere heavy with ancient devotion. In one of its neighborhoods, Williamsburg, under the relentless July sun, along the streets of the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, t...

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On a brisk spring morning in Rimini, I stood in a hushed cathedral with 11 other hikers, waiting for a bishop’s blessing. Ahead lay days of strenuous trekking through Italy’s mountainous Emilia-Romagna region to the Sanctuary of La Verna, a Franciscan monastery in Tuscany. Together we would climb and descend for 75 miles on paths, some rugged and s...

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“I’ll be there to help you over,If you lose your way, if you lose your faithWhen your time is through my final wish for youIs to count your blessings not your regrets.” – “I Will Pray for You” When Music Director Kara McEachern finished a soaring solo of “I Will Pray for You” at the last Sunday Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Parish on June 22, the n...

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Newark will hold its 135th annual feast on the weekend of July 11 to July 13 in front of the church at 259 Oliver Street. The local event has been held in celebration of Italian-American religion and culture since 1890. Here’s what to expect this year, organizers said: “The feast kicks off Friday evening, July 11 with a hea...

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The St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan will host a three-day birthday remembrance in honor of Mother Cabrini, patroness of immigrants, whose birthday falls on July 15.  Mother Cabrini was born Maria Francesca Cabrini 175 years ago – July 15, 1850, in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano (Lombardy region), Italy. Her birt...

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After a yearslong battle over control of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society Club, a long-standing social group has purchased the building and is hoping to give the 128-year-old organization a new life. “We want to take this into the direction as more of a cultural center,” said Salvatore S. Circosta, who is listed as president of the club.

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