Our Lady of Mount Carmel Procession in Shenandoah Marks 110th Anniversary

Gloria Gwiazdowski has been participating in the Our Lady of Mount Carmel procession through the streets of Shenandoah since she was a little girl.

Sunday marked probably her 72nd year of participating in the 110-year-old tradition during which a replica of the Our Lady statue is carried by hand through the streets of the borough.

“It’s just been a tradition … our parents, our grandparents, and it just brings back their memories,” Gwiazdowski said Sunday.

Following along are the flock of the Divine Mercy Parish in Shenandoah. The Upper Schuylkill Band provided some musical accompaniment.

Adults and children now share in the tradition of carrying the Our Lady statue, which is covered by a canopy, for a portion of the trek. In years past, families used to bid for the honor of carrying the Our Lady statue in the procession.

This year’s procession stepped off from outside the tony St. Casimir’s Catholic Church on N. Jardin St.

Before and during the procession, cash is traditionally attached to the statue, draping it from Our Lady.

Some families participating in the Our Lady procession also carry traditional cintas, as Gwiazdowski was on Sunday morning.

Gloria was participating in the procession with her husband, Edward, and their friend, Mary Ann Budd.

“The procession is never going to end for us because if it does at the church, we’re still going to march,” Edward said.

Cintas are typically made of numerous candles and other decorations. Some feature replica houses. They’re often carried on a person’s head for the length of the Our Lady procession.

The families that carry a cinta often keep these items for decades.

The Sincavages, Charlie and Denise, explained why they participate in the tradition of carrying a cinta in the Our Lady procession.

Denise said Our Lady has been very good to her and her family through the years. That’s why she’s been participating in the procession since she was a child.

“She has blessed us with so many blessings and helped us in so many ways. I will never stop as long as they keep it going,” she said.

Charlie said he is a lifelong Shenandoah resident but until he met Denise, had no idea the Our Lady procession existed. Now, it’s an important part of his life.

“It was her family’s tradition her entire life, mine since I met her. We have a very strong faith in Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We’re one of the few remaining original families doing this,” he said.

The Sincavages were in the procession with the Decrease and Sacco families.

For the Bindie family, the Our Lady procession is a part of their history. Participating this year were Albert and his wife, Diane, and their son, Michael.

Albert Bindie was standing in front of the original Our Lady of Mount Carmel church as the procession came to a short halt.

He said his father, a coal miner, helped build the original church.

“The church has a lot of meaning to us but history moves on,” he said.

Bindie lamented that there aren’t nearly as many Italian families in Shenandoah these days and he recalled the days of La Festa, which he described as a homecoming.

“Wherever I was, I made sure to come home for this period of time. Everybody did that, no matter where they lived, they would all come back,” Bindie said.

MORE PHOTOS FROM THE OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL PROCESSION:

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