St. Clement's Assumption feast has Italian flavor
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published August 18, 2006
Dearborn – In Italy, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is bigger than Christmas – so St. Clement Parish in Dearborn, pastored by an Italian, doesn't let it go by without proper pomp, circumstance and honor to Our Lady.
After the Aug. 12 Saturday evening Mass, the parish had its 13th annual procession in honor of the Assumption, the feast of which is Aug. 15.
Photo by Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
The parish community at St. Clement in Dearborn circle their church's property singing Marian hymns and praying during a procession to mark the feast of the Assumption. |
"I guess you could say I carried this tradition with me from my from my hometown back in Italy," said Fr. Arnold D'Achille, who was born and raised in Italy but has lived in the United States since 1956. "We do have quite a few Italian people in the parish and they love it. There are two things in my parish that I am very proud of: the devotion to the Blessed Mother and the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament."
Photo by Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
A woman in the procession holdsher flower and prays with thecongregation outside in front ofthe parish's Marian grotto. | The feast of the Assumption commemorates the Blessed Mother's entrance – or "assumption," meaning that she was taken by God – into heaven. Pope Pius XII in 1950 defined the infallible dogma of the Assumption, stating that "Mary, the immaculate perpetually Virgin Mother of God, after the completion of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into the glory of heaven."
Parishioners at St. Clement lined up and walked with flowers around the parish grounds after Mass, singing Marian hymns and praying to the Blessed Mother for intercession, pausing to pray in front of the parish's Marian grotto along the way. Ushers carried a large statue of the Blessed Mother in the middle of the procession.
At the end, the statue was placed back near the church's altar, where parishioners adorned it with their flowers.
Photo by Joe Kohn |
The Michigan Catholic
Ushers carry a statue of the Blessed Mother, adorned with flowers. | "I'm an Italian, and this is an Italian occasion," said Bruna Rea, a parishioner of nearby St. Barbara who visited St. Clement for the procession. "In Italy this is the biggest holiday of the year. All over Italy it is unbelievable."
The Assumption procession is something St. Clement parishioners have come to look forward to each year.
"To me, personally, it is showing our humility and showing our love and devotion to our Blessed Mother, especially during this time of unrest," said Michelle Audia, who works at the parish office.
It's also important, Fr. D'Achille added, for Catholics to grow closer to Christ through their devotion to the Blessed Mother and to the saints – noting that such powerful devotions have become less popular with the generations of Catholics since the Second Vatican Council.
"Devotion is very important," he said. "It adds to and supports our faith in Jesus. … They are good. They provide some increment to our faith."
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