The 100th edition of the Hoboken Italian Festival, The Feast of Madonna dei Martiri, has come to a close after four days that brought together New Jersey and the New York skyline. It is the largest Italian event in North America, and it was born from the devotion of the community from Molfetta.
For the centennial, Molfetta responded with unprecedented participation: 150 people traveled from the town to the United States, including Bishop Domenico Basile with eight priests, Molfetta Mayor Manuel Minervini, two bands, and groups of young people, families and devotees.
Behind the organization of the centennial edition is the work of Roberto Pansini, who has spent nearly twenty years building relationships and cultural projects between the United States and Puglia, and who is International Ambassador of the Madonna dei Martiri Society of Hoboken. Drawing on his knowledge of the American territory, the Sunday before the festival he brought a group of Apulians to Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in the heart of SoHo, the first Catholic cathedral in New York. The noon Mass on Sunday, September 6 was celebrated by Father Luigi Portarulo, with Father Ignazio Pansini as concelebrant, who had come from Molfetta to accompany the community of emigrants on the road to the festival’s centennial.
The Centennial Novena was held, as always, at St. Francis Church, with one exception: on September 8, after fifty years, the celebration took place at St. Ann’s Church in Hoboken, where it all began and which houses the first statue of the Madonna dei Martiri, made by the Molfetta sculptor Giulio Cozzoli, the same artist behind the Holy Week statues of Molfetta. The church was full, on the same day that Molfetta celebrated its patronal feast in honor of the Madonna dei Martiri.
The four days of festivities ran from September 10 to 13. The Mass on September 12, the day of the procession, was held at St. Francis Church, which was packed, with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, Hudson County Bishop Pedro Bismarck and the Bishop of Molfetta in attendance.
For the centennial, the members of the Madonna dei Martiri Society wore a special outfit, a white jacket, black collar, bow tie and polished shoes, inspired by a photograph from the 1950s. 3D medals were also made and handed to the members of the Society and to the young people of San Corrado, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the emigrants who carry the saint’s bust on their shoulders; the devout women created a medal of their own as well.
The festival continued with music from the Molfetta baritone Antonio Stragapede and the Dio Lo Vuole Band, which came from Molfetta for the third year in a row. At 2 p.m., fireworks marked the Madonna’s departure, followed by boarding on three boats that sailed down the Hudson River to Ground Zero, where a minute of silence honored the victims of September 11 and red roses were thrown into the water. The procession then passed in front of the Statue of Liberty and continued toward Pier A.
For the first time in the festival’s history, at 9 p.m. the sky over Hoboken lit up with a drone show that retraced a century of history: a ship crossing the ocean, the churches of Hoboken and Molfetta, the 100th anniversary logo, the Statue of Liberty, the 250 years of the United States, and finally the image of the Madonna and Child.
ilNewyorkese dedicated a special issue to the festival, distributed across New York and New Jersey. Among the side events were a visit to the town hall of Little Ferry with Mayor Mauro Raguseo, a lunch at Leo’s Restaurant, open for almost 90 years and run by four generations of Molfetta emigrants, and an official evening in Weehawken with the mayors of several New Jersey towns and the Mayor of Molfetta. On that occasion, Frank Tattoli invited Roberto Pansini to speak in front of more than 100 attendees; Pansini introduced Francesco Visaggio, representing Molfetta’s Pro Loco, the local tourism association, and together they presented symbolic crests and pennants to the institutions and associations that keep the Molfetta tradition alive. A book was also presented that brings together the history of the festival, the beauty of Puglia, the wedding world and roots tourism.
The visit to Hoboken is also tied to the new direct flight between Newark and Bari, with Newark about 15 minutes from Hoboken. The association Oll Muvi, known through the I Love Molfetta project and chaired by Pansini, also took part.
