The Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was celebrated in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with hundreds attending. Kicking off with a solemn mass at the Shrine Church, the event featured music and candlelight in reverence for the Virgin Mary. The annual feast incorporates the Italian tradition of the Giglio, a towering structure honored by men carrying it as part of a rite of passage. Attendees come from various locations, highlighting their enduring devotion, with some like Nicholas Yacenda returning for over 70 years, irrespective of distance.
"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."
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.
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."
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."
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