Opening night for the 100th Anniversary of Saint Agrippina’s Feast brought out a tremendous crowd of supporters to the North End, along with leaders from Mineo, Sicily and special guest, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
Walsh made history by being the first Mayor to carry the saint. Also receiving honors at the Thursday night ceremony were Boston Fire – Engine 8, Ladder 1, VFW Post 144 and Pappe Papa, North Ender and head of Special Events at City Hall.
An ancient bone relic of the saint was presented for the centennial occasion by religious and political leaders from Mineo, Sicily. Saint Agrippina Di Mineo was a beautiful blond princess who was unmercifully tortured to death by the Emperor Valerian in 256 AD. After her death, her body was taken from Rome to Mineo, Sicily, by three holy women; Bassa, Paula and Agatonica.
In the North End, it’s 20 men that coordinate in a complex rhythm to keep the extremely heavy statue in the air. One carrier said it was 1600 pounds, although it may have just felt that way.
In the North End, the St. Agrippina procession takes 20 men that coordinate in a complex rhythm to keep the 2,200 pound statue in the air during an 8 hour march through the neighborhood streets. On the final night, a celebratory tug of war and festive dance ended the festivities.
Enjoy the photos below showing the opening night ceremony for the Centennial St. Agrippina’s Feast.
[alpine-phototile-for-smugmug src=”user_gallery” ugal=”43310272″ ugalkey=”bHZxBH” imgl=”smugmug” style=”vertical” num=”200″ size=”X2″ shadow=”1″ highlight=”1″ curve=”1″ align=”center” max=”100″ nocredit=”1″]
[hr]
Buy us a monthly espresso! It takes a lot of coffee, and a bit of money, to keep us going. If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a pledge to NorthEndWaterfront.com.
Thanks for some great pictures, Matt!
Great Pictures Matt.
Such beautiful photos! Thank you for posting these.