The image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, patron saint of Loulé, will return to the hermitage bearing her name next Sunday at the Festa Grande da Mãe Soberana, the most important religious tradition in the municipality of Loulé and one of the most impressive a Nacional level.
In this event, the eight Men of the Andor are the central element, as they are the ones who take on the task of carrying the (very) heavy image up an extremely steep slope, at a running pace.
The Great Feast of the Sovereign Mother is the second and most popular moment of worship of Our Lady of Piety, by Louléans. The tradition, which dates back to «the XNUMXth century, is the main religious manifestation in the south of Fátima and, in this sense, is also a tourist attraction for the city of Loulé and the Algarve region», illustrated the Loulé Council in a press release.
At Easter, the image descends from the Chapel where it rests almost all year round, at the so-called Small Feast of the Sovereign Mother, to be exposed to the faithful in the Church of São Francisco. Now, 15 days later, he returns to his “home”. The Festa Grande program starts tomorrow, April 11th and continues until the 14th.
Sunday is the most important day and has several different moments. At 10:11 am Mass is celebrated in the Church of São Francisco, followed, at 1:XNUMX am, by the exit of the image, in procession, to the Largo do Monumento Eng. Duarte Pacheco, accompanied by children and young people, as well as by the Banda Sociedade Filarmónica Lacobrigense XNUMXº of May.
At noon there is a new Eucharist, next to the monument to Duarte Pacheco "with the time of praise and greeting to Our Lady of Piety."
At 16 pm, the Bishop of the Algarve, Dom Manuel Quintas, presided over a Mass at the same location, “with the consecration to Our Lady, attended by many faithful”. It is from here that the procession that “travels the main streets of the city” starts and ends at Largo de São Francisco.
At 18 pm, the most awaited moment appears, the procession in which the image of the Sovereign Mother is taken back to her hermitage. "Eight men carry the litter, dressed in white trousers and opas, climb the steep hill, to the accelerated rhythm of the music of the Banda Filarmónica Artistas de Minerva, accompanied by the population exhibiting themselves in diverse but truly heartfelt manifestations", describes the Loulé local authority. .
“The climb of the path that gives access to the altar of Nossa Senhora da Piedade is an amazing document of the Christian faith in this land. The gigantic effort of the men carrying the Virgin is combined with the spiritual strength of the many faithful who, cheering Our Lady, in brisk step and in the musical cadence of the men in the band, go “pushing”, in the heat of faith and sidewalk above, the heavy litter of the patron saint», adds the Câmara de Loulé.
“In this demonstration of great worship for the faith there are two distinct strands: the religious, in its most significant sense, and the profane, in the broadest and most liberal popular expression. This immense scenario of Loulé religiosity, with characteristics as local as it is unique, can only be felt in the soul of each believer, when lived», he explains.
The festivities end with a fireworks show, next to the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, at 23 pm.
The program that begins tomorrow also includes the Solemn Triduum – Day of Collaborators, Family and Youth, in the Church of São Francisco, with the presence of the preacher Father Pedro Filipe Duarte Manuel, parish priest of the Cathedral of Faro (April 11,12, 13 and 13). On the night of April 22, at 15 pm, the Clube Hípico de Loulé returns to pay homage to Nossa Senhora da Piedade, in Largo de S. Francisco.
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