COVID-19 didn’t stop the 145th Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival, four days of devotion to the Blessed Mother, earlier this month in Hammonton. Above, Rev. Mr. Carlo Santa Teresa and faithful prepare to process down the local streets, with their favorite saints in tow.
A worldwide health crisis has closed schools and businesses, but it didn’t stop the longest-running Italian festival in the country from taking place this year.
An annual tradition for generations, the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Festival took place in Hammonton from July 15-18. To comply with state COVID-19 guidelines, there was increased sanitation, a reduced schedule and limited festivities, but the Feast of Mount Carmel was celebrated for the 145th time.
The event is always both a celebration of Italian heritage and Catholic devotion, and this year was no different.
Socially-distanced and masked attendees, through procession and liturgy, prayed for an end to the pandemic, healing in the country, and a revival of faith in the town.
“We were faced with a hurdle that was both challenging, yet exciting,” wrote Father David Rivera, pastor of Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Parish, in a letter to his faithful expressing his thanks to the volunteers, the local Our Lady of Mount Carmel Society, vendors, sponsors and local businesses who made the event happen in these difficult times.
“Together, the parish and the (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) Society worked together in a shared responsibility to our faith,” he wrote.
A week-long event in years past, this year the outdoor festival was four days long, and without the usual carnival atmosphere of rides and games. Food stands, multilingual Masses in Saint Joseph Church, and outdoor musical entertainment continued, as well as a Feast Day procession on July 16, with faithful gathering in the streets in praise and petition to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
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