Diocese of Fall River
The Anchor
F riday , March 30, 2012
The Romeiros’ journey: Not a tradition but a lifelong pilgrimage By Dave Jolivet, Editor
FALL RIVER — Some people think it’s a tradition. It’s not. Some think it’s a procession. It’s not. Some think people can enter or exit whenever they choose. Not when it’s performed correctly. A Romaria, a Lenten pilgrimage with a strong Portuguese influence, can trace its roots back to the island of St. Michael in the Azores in the early 1500s. The yearly pilgrimage began as the result of a devastating earthquake on the island in 1522. The residents established the practice as a way of ensuring that such a catastrophe would not repeat itself. Romeiros (pilgrims) don a shawl, representing when Jesus
was brought before Pontius Pilate, a scarf to represent the Crown of Thorns, and they hold a staff like the one given to Christ during His Passion. The participants walk together through the streets and roads singing holy songs and praying. The walk leads them to various Catholic churches where they request permission to enter and pray for a litany of special intentions given to them before the journey. In Taunton, the pilgrimage took place last Saturday. In New Bedford, the Romaria is tomorrow, and Good Friday will find the pilgrims walking through Fall River. Turn to page 15 TALKING TRIDUUM — Msgr. James P. Moroney, executive secretary of the Vox Clara Committee and former executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy, recently presented a workshop on revisions to the prayers of the Easter Triduum as part of the newly-revised third edition of the English Roman Missal at St. Mary’s Parish in Mansfield. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)
Revised Roman Missal enhances prayers of Easter Triduum
By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
ahead of the sun — Men wearing shawls and carrying staffs pray as they walk along a Freetown road at sunrise last Saturday. The men are participating in a Romaria, a faith-filled expression of their devotion to Christ’s sufferings. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)
Peter Shaughnessy to head Bishop Stang High School
NORTH DARTMOUTH — Peter Shaughnessy has been appointed president/ principal of Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth, in a new governing structure to take effect July 1. He Peter will succeed Theresa Dougall, the Shaughnessy
current president, who will retire at the end of June. In the new governing model Shaughnessy will become the school’s chief administrative officer, a position that will consoliTheresa date the responDougall Turn to page 19
MANSFIELD — Mirroring the triplex structure of many of the prayers in the Liturgy itself, Msgr. James P. Moroney, executive secretary of the Vox Clara Committee and former executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy, returned to the Fall River Diocese for a third in-
formational workshop on the revised English Roman Missal — this time focusing his attention on the prayers and rites of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. Calling the new rites of the Easter Triduum “rich and beautiful,” Msgr. Moroney said they offer a clearer understanding of the importance of the events during Holy Week.
“In the Roman Missal you used last year, the rites were shallow and quick and centered on what you were supposed to do,” he said to a group of diocesan priests, deacons and laity gathered inside the parish hall of St. Mary’s Church in Mansfield. “Of all the parts of the Roman Missal … the new translation Turn to page 14
Diocesan priests prepare to lead faithful into Holy Week, Easter B y B ecky Aubut A nchor Staff
NEW BEDFORD — Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. As parishes in the Fall River Diocese prepare for Palm Sunday, Father Marek Chmurski, pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford, is putting the finishing touches on his parish’s celebration, including a procession of the entire congregation before Mass that will begin outdoors and make its way around the church before going inside. “It makes it very unique because people don’t often see processions and with the palms and the priests; that’s very impressive thing to see around our parish,” said Father Chmurski. “It makes our church visible.” Processions are a very meaningful way of expressing your faith, he said, because “a procession always symbolizes a pilgrimage, a moving
from one place to another.” Having come originally from Poland, Father Chmurski said in his native country, the faithful put an emphasis on pilgrimages, with many pilgrimages seeing participants walking miles before being put up for the night in different homes. People look forward to receiving pilgrims in their home, said Father Chmurski because it’s a beautiful reminder of faith and sharing faith with others. Pilgrimages are not holidays and often weather or discomfort from walking so long may be part of the journey, he said, “but you learn about the meaning of sacrifice. Here in the Western world, people probably don’t think much about those things but historically, from the Christian perspective, they are very meaningful and we need to remind ourselves of that.” Father John Murray of St. Joseph’s Parish in Turn to page 12