The Feast for La Madonna dell ‘Assunta that honors the Assumption of Mary, brought the Italian community of Springfield to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church for a holy mass and a celebration. “The Italian community is really faith driven,” expressed Frank Girmaldi, an usher at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.

“There is a lot of faith behind it and we pay honor to the different saints, because a lot of times we will have a special connection to it.” The celebrations included a procession with the Mary statue and there was a marching band performance in the South End neighborhood. Salvatore Circosta with Sons & Daughters of Italy in Springfield told 22News how this feast came about.