Rui Bettencourt participates in Great Feast of the Holy Spirit of New England, USA
The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations visits the United States of America to participate in the 31st edition of the Great Feast of the Holy Spirit of New England, the most significant Azorean cultural event held in the Diaspora that takes places from August 25 to 28.
On Friday, August 25, Rui Bettencourt will take part in the entrance ceremony of the insignia of Holy Spirit as well as in the blessing and distribution of “pensões” (charitable meat offerings). The event will be attended by various civil and religious entities, and will include the participation of Lira de S. Francisco Xavier Philharmonic Band from East Providence.
On the following day, the Regional Secretary participates in the “Bodo de Leite” Parade and in and the Ethnographic Parade of the Great Feast of the Holy Spirit of New England. The route goes along Columbia and South Main Street towards Kennedy Park, one of the main venues of these festivities where milk and sweet bread will be distributed to all those attending the event.
On Sunday, the most important day of the festivities, the government official will meet with PALCUS - Portuguese American Leadership Council of United States. He will also attend the Solemn Coronation Mass that will be co-celebrated by the bishops of the Azores, João Lavrador, and Fall River, Edgar Moreira da Cunha, at the Cathedral of Saint Mary.
After the mass, Rui Bettencourt and the Regional Director for Communities, Paulo Teves, who is accompanying him in this visit, will participate in the Coronation Procession, which will include “mordomos” and philharmonic bands and several institutions from New England.
On August 28, the government official will attend the closing dinner of the Holy Spirit Festivities to be held in Swansea. The event brings together official entities, representatives of “mordomos” and philharmonic bands and various institutions from the Azorean Diaspora.
During this visit to the United States, Rui Bettencourt will also meet with the president of the House of the Azores of New England, Nélia Alves-Guimarães, and with the president of the Holy Spirit Festivities Commission, Duarte Nuno Carreiro.
The Great Feast of the Holy Spirit of New England, held on the last weekend of August since 1986, annually gather thousands of people in the city of Fall River, state of Massachusetts. They involve the participation of a considerable part of the local population as well as many tourists and Azorean emigrants living in the USA who identify themselves with this cultural and religious manifestation of the Azorean Diaspora.
The programme also includes several cultural and musical moments, such as the opening of Azorean handicrafts exhibitions and the showcase of regional products featuring local and Azorean artisans, in addition to a folklore dance festival, Holy Spirit “folias” (singers and musicians), philharmonic band concerts, and performances by local and regional artists.