Our Lady of Fatima Festival 2022

CONTACT INFO :

Fax : (001) (413) 547-0207.
E-mail : fatima7687@charter.net .
Google Map : https://www.google.com/maps/search/42.158401,+-72.468429?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj70oa3qPL5AhUihc4BHbxcA_UQ8gF6BAgcEAE .
GPS Locations : 42°09'30.2"N 72°28'06.3"W (DMS) / 42.158401, -72.468429 (DD).

DESCRIPTION (in Portuguese language) :

Situado nas instalações da sede da Paróquia e da Igreja, e ao lado do Lugar Sagrado, o Parque de Estacionamento da Paróquia de Nossa Senhora de Fátima será o local escolhido onde vai decorrer a programação musical das festividades em honra de Nossa Senhora de Fátima, onde se encontrará também o palco dos concertos onde atuarão os artistas e grupos previstos nessa programação.

Proprietários : José Mário Alves, José Rodrigues e Fernando Silva.

ABOUT THE EVENT :

OUR LADY OF FATIMA FESTIVAL 2022.

For more than 60 years, the Our Lady of Fatima Festival in Ludlow, MA has brought Portuguese-Americans together from all over New England.

The Our Lady of Fatima Festival is an annual celebration of four or five days held every Labor Day weekend in honor of the Virgin Mary, and is noted for being one of the most significant Portuguese-American cultural events in the country as one of the Pioneer Valley's largest ethnic celebrations. It draws thousands of visitors to activities such as the outdoor mass, candlelight procession, and musical performances. The procession is an honor to the Virgin Mary.

The Festival event goes all weekend, with one of the highlights being Sunday's Annual Walk through several closed streets in Ludlow. And whether they come every year, or this was their first time, many say they're now dedicated to the centuries old tradition.

Norberto Bergantim, from Taunton, MA, says "Our faith, Our Lady of Lord's Faith. It's a Portuguese tradition. So, as you can see, it brings thousands of people here every year, so I get to bring people over, I'm a driver. I do it every year, so it's fun."

This year, the Our Lady of Fatima Parish puts on its 74th Anniversary. The Festival will run from September 1st to 5th.

Start Time : 12:00 PM.
Admission is free for all ages from 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM - Ticket Price (from 5:00 PM until 11:00 PM) : $2 per person for adults - All day free admission for children of -13 - Doors will be closed between 11:00 PM and 12:00 AM.
Bookings : (001) (413) 427-6508 / (001) (413) 265-3144 / oloffesta@gmail.com / dcosta93@charter.net / scottganhao@gmail.com .

Outdoor Festival and Show - All Ages - Portuguese and American Foods and Drinks Available at Food Court and Beverage Tents - Amusements for Children Available at MidWay Rides.

Other Details :

- About security, all attendees will be required to pass through a screened entrance to ensure a safe environment for all. Those attending Mass will still need to go through the screening process. The Mass times are outside of the admission times, so there is no admission for Mass.
- Alcoholic beverages are no longer restricted to a designated area. No outside alcoholic beverages will be allowed.
- The Festival grounds will be entirely fenced in with entrance and exit gates. The entrance gate will be on Winsor Street, at the parking lot of the Church, and a second gate on Norwood Street.
- Credit cards will now be accepted at the food court, beverage tents, and the MidWay Rides.
- To help defray the costs of added security, a $2 admission will be applied to attendees 13 and over after 5:00 PM.
- Traditional picnics are still allowed.
- Official service dogs available.

Several parking lots are available around the festival venue :

- Lusitano Club's Outdoor Parking Lot, located at 385 Winsor Street.
- Tony & Penny's Restaurant's Outdoor Parking Lot, located at 18-98 Canterbury Street.
- Ludlow Funeral Home's Outdoor Parking Lot, located at 2-36 Newbury Street.
- The Ludlow Senior Center be having limited PAID parking at their facility on State Street.
Other parking lot areas are available at 26-98 Cambridge Street, and at 1-99 Merrimac Street. Please no-parking where signs are respectfully posted (subject to citation and tow).

Organized by :

OUR LADY OF FATIMA DEDICATION SOCIETY
438 Winsor Street.
Ludlow, MA 01056-3531.
UNITED STATES.
Phone : (001) (413) 427-6508.
Fax : (001) (413) 547-0207.
E-mails : oloffesta@gmail.com / dcosta93@charter.net .
Website : https://ourladyoffatimaparish.org .

DESCRIPTION :

The Portuguese community of Ludlow started with a few workers recruited to the Ludlow Mills. They came in general from the area of Providence. Then, a represented of the company would go to that direction and try to recruit more emigrants to add to the ones already established in Ludlow. Little by little, the group grew, and wives and children joined their spouses.

The Great Depression came and, in order to survive, a great part of those without a job had to return to the home country. They had their plot of land and could fair better working it. Later, on their sons born in the U.S.A., were confronted with a dilemma : to go in the Portuguese army and lose their American citizenship or return to their country of birth. It is said that the majority chose the latter. And the Portuguese community grew by leaps and bounds.

During the Second World War, more emigrants arrived but it was in the late 50s, 60s and early 70s that the community, as it is known today, was rounded. The first groups were almost exclusively from the north of Portugal, from the province of Trás-os-Montes, with a few exceptions from Madeira and the Azores islands, and Cape Verde too. The later groups came from the same north but with new elements now from Minho, Beiras, and Extremadura.

Extremely religious and very much attached to their cultural roots from the beginning, the members of the community started to feel a need to worship in their mother tongue and to celebrate their special feasts.

They were welcomed by Father Chabot of Saint John the Baptist Church, that seeing how devoted they were promptly learned their language in order to minister and to get close to them. The community ended up with the 11:00 AM mass being celebrated in Portuguese. But they knew that was not enough. They wanted their own church. For that, purpose funds were collected for thirty years through breakfasts, little sales, and door to door contributions, in enormous and ingenious ways for people with very little money, but with a tremendous will, and a beautiful and strong heart. They wanted their church to be called "Saint Anthony’s" and started celebrating annually his Feast on June 13 with great joy. People came from everywhere to partake of their hospitality.

Finally in 1948, Bishop O'Leary gave them permission, and the new parish was born although without an edifice. A visiting priest from Portugal, Father Manuel Rocha, offered his ministry to the bishop who nominated him as administrator. Meanwhile, Mass i.e. the Eucharist, left Saint John’s and was being celebrated at the Grémio Lusitano Club.

On Labor Day 1949, the present Church was inaugurated and dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima and not to Saint Anthony, as it was planned. The reason was that Father Rocha convinced the community that many other churches existed already with the name of this Saint, but Our Lady of Fatima would be the first one in the Diocese. The people agreed with their spiritual leader.

The moment I visited the Parish, well before I was named its administrator in July of 1990, I saw that there was a lot to do if we wanted to make long-term plans for the future. The first step we took was the acquisition of the property that was between our parking lot and the Lusitano Club Soccer Field. Then we concentrated our attention on the Church building, getting volunteers to build an access ramp for the handicapped.

Meanwhile, the construction of the new Chapel and of the Sanctuary was nearing completion. I started to organize a construction committee that, with the Parish Council, helped me to plan a long-term project of renovation. We concluded the first phase of construction, the rectory and parish offices. We avoided the traditional New England models and chose an architectural style that reminded us of our homeland : a Mediterranean architectural style.

We proceeded with a second phase that consisted of the interior renovation of the Church building and its Sanctuary. We substituted the dark wooden panels that existed at the back of the Sanctuary and in some of the lateral walls. The lateral confessionals were transformed into small chapels where the statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Sacred Heart of Mary were placed, as well as the electric votive candles from the Sanctuary. At the entrance to the Church, we built a small reconciliation room. The partition that separated the Sanctuary from the rest of the Church was removed, and the floor in front of the main altar was substituted by dark gray Brazilian granite. The renovation of the Sanctuary was completed with a new main altar with a sculpture of the Last Supper imported from Italy, a new tabernacle from Madrid, new chairs, candleholders, and a crucifix imported directly from Braga, Portugal. The pedestals for the tabernacle, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, and the baptismal font were sculpted in granite by one of our parishioners.

The most ambitious part of the project came next. We wanted something that would provide light and color to the back of the Sanctuary and complemented the statue of the Risen Christ sculpted in Braga. We proposed the idea to various studios and, of all the projects that were submitted to us, we accepted that of J. Piercey Studios of Orlando, Florida, who sent us a design to be built in Italy in mosaic, with the theme : "The Lord Comes in His Glory to Judge the World Surrounded by His Archangels.". We then reached the conclusion that, in order to broaden the visual perspective, we needed to cover the two lateral altars with panels. Thus, coming from the same studio, we received the panels for the Tabernacle, showing two seraphim in adoration, and to the pedestal of Our Lady of Fatima, a scarlet-oak and "The Miracle of the Sun", all from Italian mosaic.

The third phase of the project was The Parish Center, which included a new chapel for daily mass. Even though, we did not have 100% of the needed budget, the most Reverend Timothy McDonnell, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, gave us permission to begin the construction. What we used to call the "white house" was demolished, and the foundation for the new Center was laid.

Aside from the contract awarded to A.R. Green, several parishioners committed themselves generously to help and help they did. The project for the Parish Center designed by Reinhardt Associates consisted of 6 classrooms, one administrative office, 3 handicapped bathrooms, and the Chapel which was named in memory of the Three Little Shepherds of Fátima.

Included in the Chapel are an altar, lectern, tabernacle, and cross originally made in Madrid, Spain. Also included are the processional statue of Our Lady of Fatima and the four beautiful stained glass windows recovered and restored from Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Ware, MA (demolished in 1999). A statue of Mary feeding Baby Jesus (Our Lady of Remedies) is situated at the entrance of the Parish Center. She has as a background a large handmade and hand painted panel in Portuguese 18th century tiles. This building was inaugurated June 25, 2006.

Suddenly, a fourth phase was thrown upon us. The front of the Church was caving in. The front stairs, arches and brick walls were falling apart. It was ready to be condemned. We had to engage a new architect (Architects, Inc.) to design a project for the exterior of our Church that could incorporate the overall look of all the buildings.

Again, it was money we did not have. We went ahead and, with the help of several parishioners, we were able to start rebuilding. This first part of the construction is now finished. We tried to maintain the original architectural design of the old building.

The second part of the first phase was the stained glass windows : the wooden window frames were rotted and needed substitution, and some of the stained glass were broken and in need of restoration. We used aluminum which will last forever.

Last but not least, a new roof will be needed that will defend and conserve the entire restoration.

Unknown to us, there was a State Law that we violated with these repairs. The Church was not handicap accessible. Therefore, we were not allowed to reconstruct without making provisions. We were called to the State Architectural Access Board in Boston, and ordered to do it. We appealed to the same board and were issued a waiver. We did the initial repairs, and the two main and costly requirements were postponed until 2013. Two handicap bathrooms and an elevator are required. The two bathrooms will be built in the Church Hall, and the elevator will be the logical access to these bathrooms.

Members :

Presidents : Mr. Ramos and David Costa.
Assistants : José Mário Alves, José Rodrigues and Scott Ganhão.

LINEUP :

The doors will open 30 minutes before Festival opens, at 11:30 AM.

At 12:00 PM :
- MidWay Special Price of $35 : One Price Unlimited Rides Until 4:00 PM.

At 4:00 PM :
- Open Air Mass.

At 6:00 PM :
- Portuguese-American folklore group "Grupo Folclórico do Imaculado Coração de Maria" (from Danbury, CT).

At 7:30 PM :
- American band Dancing Dream (ABBA Tribute Band from New York City).

At 9:30 PM :
- Fireworks Session.

At 10:00 PM : The Headline Artist.
- JORGE FERREIRA's CONCERT !!!