HAMMONTON – From across the country, the hundreds of faithful who traveled to celebrate Our Lady of Mount Carmel on and around her July 16 feast day were ready to offer up praise and thanksgiving for her blessings.
“Being Italian and Catholic, I’m just continuing the celebration and culture I grew up in,” said Philip Fortuna, who was baptized at Saint Martin de Porres Church, now Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Parish.
Fortuna, 40, was born in Hammonton and estimates that he’s spent half his summers at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Festival. Now, he and his family – wife, Angela, and their five children, Lilia, Tula, Phia, Osmond and Elliott – live in Poquoson, Va. For the past few years, they have made the six-hour drive for the Mass, carnival, food and atmosphere.
His late grandfather, Joseph Mavillo, was active with his faith and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel festivities.
“I think my grandfather would be happy that I’m passing the faith on,” Fortuna said.
Attending the feast day Mass for the fifth time in a row was special for Angela Fortuna – and not just because this year marked the 150th anniversary of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This year, she was able to receive the Eucharist for the first time, as she, Tula and Phia entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in April. Osmond and Elliott are baptized, while her oldest child, Lilia, is currently in the OCIA process.
Growing up around Washington, D.C., Angela Fortuna found herself drawn to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and “its quiet amidst the noise outside.” It was there that she encountered the Blessed Mother Mary, and realizes now the role the mother of Jesus has played throughout her life.
“I see how much in those times [spent] with her that she was drawing me to her,” she said.
Similar to the Fortuna family, 21-year-old Michael De Marco also was proud to celebrate his Catholic-Italian roots. He’s a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Newark, N.J.
“I heard about the canonical coronation, and I wanted to honor Mary and be part of this unique experience,” he said, referring to the crowning of the child Jesus and Our Lady of Mount Carmel statue. Pope Francis, before his death, approved by papal decree the canonical coronation – a recognition of the Marian image as significant in the lives of local Catholics.
As De Marco stood holding a candle before the procession of saintly statues, he joined hundreds of devoted women and men unwilling to let the mid-90 degree humid weather dampen their joy of the faith.
“To see the crowd, to see the faith that is present here strengthens my own,” he said. “The faith that our ancestors brought with them from Italy has been a great gift. I feel entrusted with those gifts, and a duty to pass them on to future generations.”
AnnaMarie Mahieu, a native of Hammonton, has been attending the celebration for 40-plus years. “I love Our Lady so much; I’m here to honor her and the saints who’ve helped me on my life’s journey.”
Today, she is a parishioner at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Galloway, but she continues the tradition for the love of a mother who’s been with her family every step of the way.
Her son, Andy, who died six years ago at age 43, was born with a rare liver disease, and Mahieu knows it was through Mary’s intercession that he lived as long as he did.
“Doctors didn’t expect him to live long, and they couldn’t do anything for him,” other than experimental treatment, she said. “But we received so many graces from Our Lady. To honor her here is wonderful.”
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