Evviva Maria! A look at the 71st Annual Feast of the Madonna Addolorata in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Evviva Maria!

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

The annual procession in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows has been celebrated on the second Sunday of September by the Congrega Maria SS. Addolorata in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn since 1948.

A beautiful shrine for Our Lady was erected on the bye-altar

(L) Some last minute preparations. (R) A couple of adorable angels

The statue is brought out to the expectant crowd 

Members of the Congrega Maria SS. Addolorata pose for a picture outside

Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary — St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church 

(Above & below) Departing the church,
the procession makes its way through the neighborhood

Outside the 76th Precinct, members give thanks to New York's Finest
with a rousing rendition of the National Anthem 

Along the way, people pin donations on to the statue 

Participants take a brief respite at Frank's on Smith Street

Our friends from Frank's generously offered
everyone a delicious sandwich and cold water

The dapper Carrieri-Russo Men and Vincenza enjoying the festivities

Dressed like the Blessed Mother,
these adorable angels carry on a wonderful tradition

Proud papa Joe brings Emma to her first feast

(L) Shrine to the Madonna Addolorata outside the Society's clubhouse. 
(R) Therese Panicali thrilled us with an amazing performance of Ave Maria 

As the sun sets, the torches are lit and the
procession winds its way back to the church

Beneath the festive lights, devotees greet the returning procession

(Above & below) The statue returns with much fanfare

(Above & below) Back at the church,
Therese Panicali performed an encore

The procession closes with a fireworks extravaganza

Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary — St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church

Photo of the Week: The Madonna dei Martiri in the Basilica della Madonna dei Martiri in Molfetta

Grazie mille Andrew Giordano for sharing your wonderful photo
of the Madonna Dei Martiri (Our Lady of the Martyrs) from the
Basilica della Madonna dei Martiri in Molfetta (BA), Puglia

Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of St. Lawrence Justinian

Thank you to this month's volunteers

Thursday, September 5th, members of the Constantinian Auxiliary prepared and distributed food to the homeless in Chinatown and Two Bridges, New York on the Feast of St. Lawrence Justinian. Meeting at the Church of the Transfiguration (29 Mott St.), volunteers prepared 30 care packages replete with toiletries and ready to eat food, including containers of freshly cooked penne marinara generously donated by our dear friends at Caffé Napoli (191 Hestor Street) in Little Italy.

Once again, we want to thank Antonio, Anna and Konstantinos Mavrianos-Cesare of the St. Rocco Society for their hard work and dedication. You are an inspiration to us all. Thank you Louis Fontana of Caffé Napoli; Robert Michael Surella of the East Harlem Giglio Society; Raymond Guarini of the Italian Enclaves Historical Society; Dama Luisa Cristofano and her son Charles; and Cav. John Napoli for your continued assistance. Your heartfelt generosity and selflessness is greatly appreciated. And as always, special thanks to Pastor Lo for your support and blessings. It is an honor to serve with such an outstanding group of people. God Bless you all. IHSV

The next walk will be on Thursday, October 3rd—the Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus—at 7:00 PM. Anyone interested in supporting this charitable endeavor can contact Cav. John Napoli at jnapoli@smocsg.org or Anna Mavrianos-Cesare at MsAnnaNY@aol.com.

Before heading to the church, we picked up the food from Caffé Napoli

Raymond led our group in prayer

Participants said a prayer for the homeless and prayed the Rosary

Everybody pitched in

Luisa and Charles help pack the bags

Our friends at Caffé Napoli donated a heaping tray of penne marinara

Above and below: Some alms from anonymous donors

Originally posted in The Constantinian Chronicle

New Book — The Ethics of Ornament in Early Modern Naples: Fashioning the Certosa di San Martino

Forthcoming title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon

• The Ethics of Ornament in Early Modern Naples: Fashioning the Certosa di San Martino (Visual Culture in Early Modernity) by J. Nicholas Napoli 

Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: November 14, 2019
Paperback: $45.55
Language: English
Pages: 430

Read description

Click here to see more books 

Listing does not imply any endorsement

Meridiunalata XIII: A Bilingual Offering of Duosiciliano Poetry

Inspired by Cav. Charles Sant'Elia's Meridiunalata/Southernade,* an evocative bilingual (Neapolitan/ English) collection of poetry written between 1989 and 2010, we offer the reader an accessible introduction to vernacular (Neapolitan, Sicilian, et al.) verse with the aim of awakening enthusiasm for contemporary and historical poesia Duosiciliano. 

In this installment we're featuring the Neapolitan poetry of Eduardo De Filippo.

‘O Cunto
Di Eduardo De Filippo (from ‘A Vita, 1970)

Cielo
ca puntualmente
‘o mes’’austo
abbremmecato
‘e stelle
te presiente,
e ca te faie
cchiù blù
pecché
cchiù argiento
cchiù splendente
e brillante
sti meliune
‘e stelle
‘ann’’a paré…
Cielo,
tu saie che ssí
pe chistu munno,
pe nnuie ca t’aspettammo
e te vedimmo?
sí ‘o finale
‘e nu cunto
ca nuie stesse ammentammo,
e sulitariamente
c’’o core
e c’’o penziero
nce cuntammo.

Cumme se specchia a mmare
dint’’o scuro
‘o ffuoco d’’e granate!
Se spara p’a custiera,
tuorno tuorno…
Pe San Giuvanne,
Puortece,
Resina,
Torre ‘o Grieco,
Pumpei,
Castellammare…
‘A rimpetto
Risponne
Vico Equense,
Sant’Agnello,
Surriento…
Aret’’a na muntagna
nu bagliore:
spara Massa Lubrense.
Marciano pure spara…
E appriesso appriesso
Sant’Agata
Crapolla
Pusitano…
Spara Furore
Vietri
e sparano a Praiano.
Cielo,
sò ‘e stelle noste,
sò ‘e pparole mbrugliate
‘e nu discorso
ca sultanto sparanno
trova ‘o filo,
pe te da segno ‘e vita
pure nuie…

E ogn’anno,
‘o mes’’austo,
puntualmente
ognuno conta ‘o cunto
o modo suio…

The Story

Sky
That punctually
In the month of August
Swarming with
Stars
You present yourself
And that becomes more blue
Because
More silvery
More resplendent
More shiny
These millions
Of stars
Must appear…
Sky,
Do you know you are
For this world,
For us who wait for you
And see you?
You’re the end
Of a story
That we ourselves invent,
And alone
With our hearts
And with our thoughts
We tell it to ourselves.

How the fire of the fireworks
Is reflected in the sea
In the dark!
They’re shooting off along the Coast,
All around…
By San Giovanni,
Portici,
Resina,
Torre del Greco,
Pompei,
Castellammare…
Across the way
Respond
Vico Equense,
Sant’Agnello,
Sorrento…
Behind a mountain
A glare:
Massa Lubrense is firing.
Marciano too fires…
And one after another
Sant’Agata
Crapolla
Positano…
Furore fires
Vietri
And they’re firing in Praiano.
Sky,
They’re our stars,
They’re the garbled words
Of a conversation
Which only in firing off
Finds the sense,
To give you a sign of life
We too…

And every year,
In the month of August,
Punctually
Everyone tells his story
In his way…

Translated by Cav. Charles Sant’Elia

* Self-published in 2010, Meridiunalata/Southernade is a treasury of poems gleaned from Cav. Sant'Elia's previous collections (Nchiuso dint''o presente, 'A cuntrora, and 'O pino e l'éllera), which were circulated among friends in New York City and Naples. Special thanks to Cav. Sant'Elia for allowing us to reprint his poetry and translations.

Celebrating the Feast of St. Pius X in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

Viva St. Pius X

Dues, qui ad tuéndam cathólicam fidem et univérsa in Christo instauránda sanctum Pium, Summum Pontíficem, cælésti sapiéntia et apostólica fortitúdine replevísti: concéde propítius; ut, eius institúta et exémpla sectántes, præmia consequámur ætérna. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filius tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. ~ The Collect*

Tuesday evening my friends and I joined some forty parishioners at beautiful Holy Name of Jesus Church (245 Prospect Park West) in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn for High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite for the Feast of the St. Pius X, Pope and Confessor.

The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was sung by Celebrant and Homilist Fr. Joseph Zwosta, in residence at St. Mark RC Church in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Fr. Zwosta was dutifully assisted by servers Robert Jurman, Brian Hilley, and Jorge A. Fernandez Vidro. The Ordinary of the Mass and motets were composed by director and organist David Adam Smith and gloriously chanted by Augusta Caso, Kate Maroney, Peter Gruett, Art Bryan Manabat, Sean Salamon and Peter Walker.

Before the dismissal and final blessing, members of the congregation were given the opportunity to venerate the relic of St. Pius X.

Thank you Rev. Lawrence D. Ryan, Pastor and all the Parish staff and congregation for your warmth and hospitality. Special thanks to Cindy Brolsma and organizers for your hard work and dedication. Once again, it was a privilege to celebrate our faith together.

The next Traditional Latin Mass at Holy Name of Jesus Church will be a Requiem for the Deceased of Holy Name Parish on Thursday, November 7th at 7:00pm.

* O God Who, for the defense of the Catholic faith and the restoration of all things in Christ, filled St. Pius, the Supreme Pontiff, with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fearlessness, mercifully grant that, by following his teachings and examples, we may receive Thy eternal rewards. Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Evviva Santa Rosalia! A Look at the 43rd Annual Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn (Part 2)

Closing Festivities

Evviva Santa Rosalia!

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

See part 1

Before the procession commences, Fr. Alessandro leads us in prayer 

(L) The outdoor chapel on 18th Avenue, between 71st and 72nd Streets.
(R) Statuette of la Santuzza, the Little Saint, outside Villabate Bakery 

(Above & below) God bless all the participants

Members of the Associazione Culturale Pugliese Figli Maria SS. Addolorata
show their support and dedication to our community

Pio, Enzo, and Angelo 

A good time was had by all

The Metropolitan Festival Band 

(Above & below) The procession departs the fairground

Devotees sing hymns and pray along the way

Two Sicily pride was on display

(Above & below) The procession wends its way through the neighborhood

Our pal Angelo Timoneri

Members of the Associazione Culturale Pugliese Figli Maria SS. Addolorata
greet Santa Rosalia by the steps of St. Dominic's Church 

Inside the recently renovated church

Back at the fairground we enjoyed some games, rides & delicious street fare

We had another fantastic day to explore the fairgrounds

Children of all ages enjoyed the rides

Steaming octopus from Lucy's

Stigghiola from Lucy's

Naturally we made our obligatory stop at Villabate Alba Pasticceria
(7001 18th Ave.) for some espresso and baked iris

A Look at the 2019 Festa di San Rocco in Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania

Window Shrine to San Rocco
Photos courtesy of Metropolitan Vittorio Cianca

On Sunday, August 25th, nearly one hundred members of the Western Orthodox Church of Pennsylvania came together to celebrate the Feast of San Rocco. Rotating annually between four of the Keystone State’s Western Orthodox parishes (St. Peter and Paul in Brentwood; Mission of the Holy Trinity in Newcastle; and House of the Mother of God in Oil City) this year’s celebration was held at Casa di Santa Magi in Mount Oliver, Pittsburgh.

Divine Liturgy with blessing with holy oil was celebrated by Bishop Vittorio Cianca.

Afterward, partygoers enjoyed a delightful day of fellowship, replete with Calabrese music, dance and delicious delicacies, including some homemade wine and limoncello. The evening concluded with a concert on the parish grounds. Viva San Rocco!

Celebrating Divine Liturgy at Casa di Santa Magi

(Above & below) Shots of people coming and going throughout the day eating pasta and drinking homemade wine and limoncello

(L) Dancing the Tarantella. (R) Princess Filamenia

+ + +

The Formal Divine Liturgy was celebrated earlier by Bishop Vittorio Cianca at the Mission of the Holy Trinity in Newcastle, PA.

Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Bishop Cianca

Committee heads: (L-R) Mother Reparata, Monk Abbot Ferruccio,
Bishop Cianca, Lori and Tom

Photo of the Week: Duomo di Cefalù, Sicily

Photo courtesy of Niccolò Graffio

Around the Web: Off the Menu Pundits Charles and Vincent Discuss The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

A viewer asks: "Is it true that before the Italian Unification the Kingdom of Two Sicilies was one of the most prosperous nations in Europe? If so, what caused its downfall?" 

Watch clip for Charles' answer.