St. Paul’s Italian Festival: An August Tradition in Erie, PA

Every August, the St. Paul Roman Catholic Church holds its three-day Italian festival celebrating the Feast of the Assumption. St. Paul’s is located in Erie’s historic Little Italy and is the parish my in-laws grew up and were married in. We’ve gone to the festival in the past but have never attended the Mass and procession through the streets of Little Italy.

Feeling nostalgic for the processions we participated in during our Italy visit a few years ago, we decided to immerse ourselves in the experience this year. And I’m happy to say we enjoyed the Erie procession just as much as those we attended in Italy.

The day started out with Mass at 11:00 a.m., and we were just late enough that we sat in the back row, which gave us a good view of the preparations for the processional part of the Mass. The Bishop of the Diocese of Erie, Most Rev. Larry Persico, was there along with little children dressed as angels, the Knights of Columbus, and other groups. The choir sang in Italian in addition to a providing very capable rendition of Ave Maria, which started off the mood for the ceremony.

My favorite part of the Mass was when the Bishop said that today is a day when everyone is either Italian or wants to be Italian. I’m proud to say that after so many years of thinking I was a member of the latter category, the Ancestry.com DNA test I took a few months ago revealed that I am actually 11% Italian. There must have been some intermarrying going on between Italy and England or Italy and Germany way back in the family tree. But I’m very happy to say I’m actually part Italian now.

After Mass, it was time for the various groups to recess out of the church. The Knights of Columbus raised their swords to make a channel for the Bishop and priests to walk through. The young men picked a litter containing a large statue of Mary, the guitar and trumpet players took their places, and everyone assembled on the corner of 16^th & Walnut.

I wondered what it would be like processing through Little Italy, which is undergoing a restoration, and contains many ethnicities and faiths. I wondered how this patchwork of races and creeds would react as we passed through their streets, singing “Salve Regina.” (If you’re not Catholic, you may recognize the Sister Act version). I didn’t need to worry at all. Many people came out on their porches to watch us pass by, and everyone was respectful, even a porch full of teenagers.

After the procession, it was time for the spaghetti dinner. How could we not have partaken after smelling the savory sauce that had been simmering for the past 12 hours? For $8, (children $4) diners received a small salad, plenty of Italian bread, and a generous portion of spaghetti with two respectably sized meatballs. Wine was available for $2 and soda for $1 in addition to the offered coffee or water. Dessert was a cup of vanilla ice cream. Needless to say, that was our dinner for the day. No need for me to cook that night.

Outside under the tents, there were bingo, gambling games, children’s activities, and more food, including pizza, meatball subs, and desserts galore. We might have decided to cool down with a bottle of Peroni beer or a nice cup of gelato, too. And what would a festival be without raffles? We could take a chance on a nice mountain bike or on any of 70 baskets, each worth around $100. If we were in the mood for shopping, we could buy a snazzy, “Kiss me I’m Italian” T-shirt or head over to the boutique that was filled with gently worn purses, scarves, and jewelry all donated to the festival. Jim was in the mood for shopping and bought a nice, blue T-shirt that says “Italia” on the front.

There was plenty of entertainment at St. Paul’s festival, too. Brightly dressed in red and green, the Italian Dancers of Erie made us think of the many years of Italian heritage represented by the festival. And musical acts, such as Cugini Italiani (Italian cousins), Gli Italiani, and  Ruby Port took the stage.

Oh, and what’s a church festival without a car raffle? I almost forgot to mention the grand prize, a 2014 Fiat 500L.

Unfortunately, the festival 2014 is now over, but mark your calendars for the 2015 St. Paul’s Italian festival. After all, during the festival everyone’s Italian—or wants to be Italian, you know.

Say gang, check out the festival photos below. They were all taken with an iPhone, so they’re not bad, but they’re not award-worthy. In any case, you’ll get the picture, yes?

Ciao!

Ann Silverthorn (Twitter: @annsilverthorn) is a blogger who also writes about a wide variety of topics in numerous genres, including non-fiction, fiction, poetry, travel, and grant writing.

Here’s a gallery of photos. Click on any that you might like to see larger.