The 100th edition of the Hoboken Italian Festival, The Feast of Madonna dei Martiri, was closed, four days involving New Jersey and the skyline of New York. It is the largest Italian event in North America, and was born from the devotion of the community of Molfetta.
For the centenary edition, Molfetta responded with unprecedented participation: 150 Molfettesi arrived in the United States, including Bishop H.E. Mons. Domenico Basile with eight priests, the mayor of Molfetta Manuel Minervini, two bands of music, and groups of young people, families and devotees.
Behind the organization of the centenary edition there is the work of Roberto Pansini, who for almost twenty years builds relations and cultural projects between the United States and Puglia, and is International Ambassador of the Society Madonna dei Martiri of Hoboken. Thanks to his knowledge of the American territory, on Sunday before the feast he brought a group of Apulia to the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in the heart of SoHo, the first Catholic cathedral in New York. At the Mass on Sunday, September 6, he presided over Fr Luigi Portarulo, with Fr Ignazio Pansini as a concelebrant, arrived from Molfetta to accompany the community of emigrants towards the centenary of the festival.
The Nineveh of the Centenary was celebrated as always in the church of St. Francis, with an exception: on September 8, after fifty years, the celebration was held in the church of St. Anne in Hoboken, where everything began and where the first statue of Our Lady of Martyrs is located, realized by the sculptor Giulio Cozzoli, the same author of the statues of the Holy Week in Molfettese. The church was full of faithful, the same day when the patronal feast was celebrated in Molfetta in honor of Our Lady of Martyrs.
The four days of celebration took place from 10 to 13 September. The Holy Mass of 12 September, the day of the procession, was held in the church of St. Francis, in the presence of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, Bishop of Hudson County Pedro Bismarck and Bishop of Molfetta.
For the centenary edition, members of the Society Madonna dei Martiri wore a special dress, white jacket, black neck, bow tie and shiny shoes, inspired by a photo of the Fifties. 3D medals were also made, delivered to the members of the Society and to the young people of San Corrado, grandchildren and children of the emigrants who carry the bust of the saint on their shoulders; also devoted women created their own medal.
The festival continued with the music of the baritone molfettese Antonio Stragapede and the God Lo Wants Band, arrived from Molfetta for the third consecutive year. At 14, the exit of Our Lady was accompanied by fireworks, followed by boarding on three boats that sailed along the Hudson River to Ground Zero, where a minute of silence reminded the victims of September 11 and were launched in the sea red roses. The procession then passed in front of the Statue of Liberty, continuing towards Pier A.
For the first time in the history of the festival, at 21 the sky of Hoboken illuminated with a drone show that covered a century of history: a ship that crosses the ocean, the churches of Hoboken and Molfetta, the logo of the 100 years, the Statue of Liberty, the 250 years of the United States, up to the image of Our Lady with the Child.
new York City has dedicated a special issue to the party, distributed between New York and New Jersey. Among the collateral events, the visit to the Municipality of Little Ferry with the mayor Mauro Raguseo, the lunch at the Leo’s Restaurant, opened for almost 90 years and managed by four generations of Molfettesi emigrants, and the institutional evening in Weehawken with the mayors of different New Jersey municipalities and the mayor of Molfetta. On that occasion, Frank Tattoli invited Roberto Pansini to speak in front of over 100 participants; Pansini presented Francesco Visaggio, representing the Pro Loco di Molfetta, and together they delivered crests and symbolic gaglets to institutions and associations that keep alive the tradition of Molfettese. A volume has also been donated that combines the history of the festival, the beauties of Puglia, the world of wedding and the tourism of the roots.
The presence in Hoboken is also linked to the new direct flight Newark-Bari, about 15 minutes from Hoboken. The association Oll Muvi, known through the project I Love Molfetta, of which Pansini is president.
L’articolo The Centenary of the Hoboken Italian Festival ends, four days for the Madonna dei Martiri proviene da IlNewyorkese.
