Florida Catholic | Brevard Pilgrims Bring Cultural Diversity To Festival

Brevard pilgrims bring cultural diversity to Festival

Catholics from six Brevard County parishes make pilgrimage to shrine for multicultural Mass.

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 05.22.08

Puerto Rican Catholics process into the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando May 8 during the Festival of Faith’s opening celebration of the Eucharist.
VALETA ORLANDO | FC

MELBOURNE | There was an unquestionable sense of pilgrimage May 8 as people boarded the bus in the Ascension Parish parking lot here.

Destined for the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando, 52 Catholics from six Brevard County parishes, many wearing native costumes representing 12 countries including Puerto Rico and Cuba, boarded the bus carrying banners representing those countries.

“At our planning meeting, our pastor (Father Eamon Tobin) wanted to make sure that as many parishioners could attend as possible,” explained Rita Billingsley, Festival of Faith coordinator for Ascension Parish. “So when we discussed renting buses, he said, ‘Let’s try it.’ He told us to keep the price down so people could afford it and we could have buses going each day. When we saw that most people were driving and we didn’t fill the buses with our own parishioners, we put notices in the bulletins of surrounding parishes and the bus sold out.”

As the last person sat down, Father William Hanley, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, also in Melbourne, extended his hands over the group. Deacon Sergio Colon, from Ascension, then invoked the Lord’s blessings on their journey. “Father, we ask you in a special way to bring us all together safely to join our brothers and sisters at the shrine.”

“It is May – the month of our Blessed Mother and being from a communist country, from childhood, in May we went daily to church to celebrate the litany (of Mary). I was with my parents and I wasn’t afraid,” shared Emma Pruzina, a native of the Czech Republic and a parishioner at Immaculate Conception Parish in Melbourne Beach. “Because of the Festival of Faith, it is such a blessing that I can do this again.”

“It’s exciting to go as one community from all different countries,” said Nimmi Bernard of Ascension.

Ianthe Moxie, also of Ascension, said, “It’s a wonderful thing that our Bishop (Thomas Wenski) would provide this opportunity for all of us to gather as one body in Christ.”

Gaetano D’Anna, a 15-year-old participant in Ascension’s Life Teen ministry, was the youngest member of the group. “I’m here to help represent Ecuador with my mom and dad, and take part in our church’s celebration,” she said.

The strains of “Amazing Grace” were the first notes of many hymns sung on the journey, the bus arrived at its destination. The pilgrims descended the stairs of the bus, arms filled with banners, poles and stands, careful not to muss their attire.

They joined the other colorfully clad pilgrims waiting in the procession line. As the procession entered the shrine, shouts and cheers arose from attendees and applause resounded.

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Brevard pilgrims bring cultural diversity to Festival

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