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Evviva San Gerardo!
Photo by New York Scugnizzo
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By Giovanni di Napoli
Sunday, October 19th, my friends and I joined thousands of pilgrims in Newark, New Jersey for the 115th Annual Feast of San Gerardo Maiella at Saint Lucy's Church. Always a fantastic turnout, celebrants came from far and wide for the celebration.
Following Mass I took the opportunity to admire the church architecture and fantastic collection of religious statuary. Naturally, we ran into many friends and made several new ones, including a friendly gentleman from Atripalda, as might be expected, near the statue of San Sabino di Avellino. Afterward, we enjoyed a terrific lunch at our friend Frankie Antipasto's tent, who specializes in artisan salumi and other southern Italian delicacies.
When visiting the church you can't miss the Museum of the Old First Ward, located in the basement of Saint Lucy's Community Center. They have many historical treasures, including a fantastic collection of presepio figures.
Before leaving, I picked up a few souvenirs at the gift shop for family and friends, then said my goodbyes. I offer my sincere and heartfelt thanks to the men and women of St. Lucy's Church for their hard work and giving us this wonderful opportunity to celebrate our faith and our culture. Evviva San Gerardo!
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| San Gerardo is carried from his chapel to the front of the altar |
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| Devotees line up and cover the Saint with donations |
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| Final preparations are made before the procession |
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| The standard bearers are ready to go |
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| Boy Scouts carry the flags at the head of the procession |
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| Leaving the church to greet the expectant crowd |
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| To everyone's delight San Gerardo emerges from St. Lucy's |
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| Devotees bring their babies to be blessed by the Saint |
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| It's always great to see our friends from the St. Joseph Society of Lodi (above) and the Monte San Giacomo Society of Hoboken (below) |
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| We stopped by Buon Antipasto to say hello to our good friend Frankie (right), buy a couple of soppressata and, of course, try one of his amazing sandwiches |
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| Some highlights from the presepio exhibit at the Museum of the Old First Ward |
