One of this year’s floats represented Our Lady of Peace, her statue framed by flags of conflict-ridden countries like Ukraine and Libya. It signified how vulnerable locals feel to increasingly destructive wildfires raging during extreme heat waves. Among them was Julieta Pereira, who has lived in Switzerland for more than 30 years but came back to her native Lamego to take part in the procession as a vow to Mary for healing her from complex heart and knee operations.īut for all the timeless quality of the Lamego procession, there are also poignant contemporary reminders.Īlong the route, people applauded when more than a dozen firefighters marched in step, their golden helmets and silver axes gleaming in the sun. Proceeding with them were solemn marching bands, the bishop and local clergy carrying a sacred relic, and about 200 faithful in historical or Biblical dress.Īt least 50 were women dressed in pink and blue like the Virgin statue, carrying Jesus dolls or real babies. They watched in silence as the oxen pulled the five floats. More observed from festively draped windows. Last Friday, people two or three deep lined the procession route, many having staked out a spot with folded stools the night before. The priest said the statue symbolizes the motherly care for all faithful by Our Lady of Remedies, whose statue is normally venerated in a sanctuary nearly 700 steps up a stone stairway ascending the town’s highest hill. “It’s the nicest moment for a woman, to nurture a child,” said Albano. Another uncommon aspect of the procession is the iconic century-old sacred image standing on the bow of a boat-shaped float – the Virgin Mary breastfeeding infant Jesus.
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