Brooklyn's annual Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast blends faith, tradition in local celebration
The celebration began with a solemn mass at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, where candlelight and music filled the sanctuary in honor of the Virgin Mary.
"Our Lady, in the year 1251, on July 16th, gave the scapula to Saint Simon as a gift and a promise of her assistance and prayer and our devotion to her," said Philip Franco, emcee and chairman of the event. "So for well over 800 years, it's been a big part of Catholicism."
Franco, who also wrote his dissertation on the subject, says the annual feast was combined decades ago with another deeply rooted Italian tradition: the dancing of the Giglio.
"The giglio is a 78-foot structure. It's approximately 2.5 tons, plus the people on top, and it's carried by approximately 100 men," Franco said.
The tower honors a centuries-old legend of Saint Paulinus, who gave himself up during a pirate invasion to spare others in his village. Upon his return, he was welcomed with towers of lilies, or "gigli." For generations, lifting the Giglio has been considered a rite of passage.
"It was a big accomplishment. It was something that we always wanted to do," said lifter Brian Allocco. "We tried to do it from when we were young kids."
The event continues to draw both longtime locals and visitors. Nicholas Yacenda, who has participated for over 70 years, said not even a move across the country could keep him away.
"I moved to Las Vegas for about 20 years. But I came back here every year because of my devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel," Yacenda said. "She's my heart. That's why I'm 81, I feel pretty good."
For others like Maria Puntillo, the feast is a way to reconnect with her roots.
"We are continuing our traditions, celebrating our heritage, our culture and paying homage to Our Lady of Mount Carmel as our families, our grandparents, great grandparents and parents did before us," said Puntillo, who traveled from Florida for the event.
First organized by newly arrived Italian immigrants in the late 19th century, the feast has only grown in significance and scale over time.
"This feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is America's parish feast," said Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, pastor of the church. "It's one of the largest in the city. People come back every year. It's one of the oldest. And what keeps it going are the people that come here."
The celebration continues this week with two more scheduled Giglio dances — one on Thursday night and another on Sunday.
Have a story idea or tip in Brooklyn? Email Hannah by CLICKING HERE.
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Her system avoids that and allows her to utilize cutting edge technology to track all aspects of her farming and ranching operation when it comes to irrigation. She does that by monitoring a variety of conditions on her phone, even remotely. The systems pay off. According to the NRCS, pivot irrigation uses a lot less water — perhaps as much as 30% less, industry estimates say — than flood irrigation. Pivot sprinklers apply water more evenly across fields than flood irrigation. Also, less water is lost to evaporation and there is less risk of soil erosion, fertilizer and chemical runoff, and nutrient leaching — so aside from helping farmers there are environmental benefits and improvement in public health via cleaner waterways. The hard, good life As a single mom, farmer and rancher, Fasselin has plenty to do. Her boys, Jace, 10, and Jaxten, 7, are learning early about the culture of having land that you work. There's crops to be planted and harvested, cattle and horses to be managed. Jaxten proudly drives the tractor, but his feet dangle from the seat. Perhaps it is a throwback to the way Jacie was raised, when her mother would put her in a basket as she drove the tractor. The ranching life Both boys know their way around horses, relishing the freedom of the ride, the smells and the bond that comes with an animal that outweighs them by factor of nine or 10. They're cautious, but they have learned that the hard way with their own mishaps on the ranch. Fasselin is breaking Boondock, a 2-year-old, for Jaxten. She has another mare, Smoky, who is young and coming up. At the end of the day, Fasselin gathers the boys around the dinner table. They say their prayers. She never stops feeling grateful. These experiences that come from ranching and farming embody a way of life she says she hopes will teach her boys about their roots, their history — so one day they can pass it on. Even with all her daily challenges and learning the rough life of ranching, she never loses sight of being a mother and helping them to learn in the most patient of ways. For anyone else, this could be frustrating and tiring. But she takes the time to sing songs and cuddle with them at night. It is, after all, the most important job she does — being a mother and role model. Even though her days always seem to start early and end late, and she gets tired, it's a good tired and she has no regrets. 'I chose this life 100%.' Solve the daily Crossword
