Celebrating the Feast of the Madonna Dei Martiri in Hoboken, New Jersey

Thousands of revelers attended the Feast of the Madonna Dei Martiri 

(Above & below) Watching the ferry with the Madonna Dei Martiri return to the fairgrounds from Pier A Park and the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway

Following the blessing of the fleet, the boats sailed across the Hudson River
to the New York City shoreline (to remember 9/11) and Ellis Island 

The ferry ride is a reenactment of the traditional annual celebration in Molfetta, Puglia, where the fishermen take the image of Our Lady out to sea

According to tradition, Crusaders returning from the Holy Land in 1188 discovered a Byzantine icon of the Blessed Mother floating in the Adriatic Sea. Fishing it out of the water, the knights enshrined the image in the hospice at Molfetta, where many of their wounded brethren died as Martyrs of the Faith.

The ferry is festively decorated for the Feast

Passengers disembarked outside the Hoboken Transit Terminal

(Above & below) Molfettesi carry San Corrado di Baviera,
Molfetta's beloved co-patron, at the head of the procession

Members of the Società Madonna Dei Martiri with their society standard

(Above & below) Returning to land, the statue of Our Lady of the Martyrs
is carried along Sinatra Drive and through the Streets of Hoboken back to
Saint Francis of Assisi Church for the Benediction

Marching band accompanied the procession

An outdoor chapel was erected at the fairgrounds

Sausage and peppers were among the many
delicious Italian street foods on hand