This year’s Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Hammonton was, as always, a joyous celebration of Italian heritage and the Catholic faith, but it also served as a notably historic anniversary for the event.
This year was the 150th anniversary for the procession and associated festivities, and it’s said to be the longest continuously-observed religious celebration in the country, by any faith or denomination.
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“It’s been held through everything – world wars, the Viet Nam War, Covid – the procession has always taken place,” said Louis Pantalone, President of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society, which runs the festival.
The proud president said the event was a tremendous success.
“It was better than we could have planned it,” he said. Pantalone said that planning for the momentous event took over five years to complete.
Considering the significance of the anniversary, this year’s proceedings featured a number of other events leading up to last month’s week-long feast. Pantalone said there was a packed banquet back in March, and in May they hosted a concert featuring Frankie Avalon, Fabian and a tribute to the late Bobby Rydell, with 5,000 people in attendance.
Also prior to this year’s festival, Pantalone said the late Pope Francis approved the canonical crowning of the statue at the center of the feast, as a way to officially acknowledge its historical significance and the importance of the yearly procession in Hamilton.
Picture Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/OLMChammonton
The festival dates back to July 16, 1875, when three Italian immigrants, who had recently settled into life as farmers in Hammonton, gathered to give thanks, Pantalone said. They were thankful for their recent safe passage to their new home, for successful harvests, and for the opportunity they found here in America. They prayed and carried a painting of the Virgin Mary in a procession through the fields.
Pantalone said this all predates the first Catholic Church in Hammonton, which didn’t form until 12 years later. The painting was eventually replaced with a statue, the procession moved into town in Hammonton and the celebration began to grow.
This year’s festival featured a drone show, along with the usual carnival rides and attractions, fireworks, and of course, all the great Italian food Hammonton is known for.
Over the course of the seven days of the festival, Pantalone said that they saw close to 100,000 people in town, showing that the festival is still going strong after all these years.
“You still have people that are in their 90s,” Pantalone said. “Their children are coming, their children’s children are coming, and now those children’s children are coming. It’s not going away.”
Pantalone said the festival and the organization behind it are all about tradition.
“It’s handed down father to son, family to family,” he said.
Proving his point, Pantalone said he’s been president for going on15 years now, previously served as vice president for 23 more, and has been a member since 1979. He said his father was a past president of the organization, his grandfather helped build their building, and many of his relatives are members.
Pantalone said the ownership of the event has extended out to Hammonton as a whole, as the entire community comes out to celebrate.
“It’s one of the premier festivities of the year,” he said. “Hammonton has done a great job with revitalizing. They’ve done a tremendous job with downtown. The leadership in town has been great. The civic organizations all work together. The community is really close-knit and there’s a lot of pride here.”
The special anniversary celebration, Pantalone said, has especially shone a light on the event and added even greater hope for its future success.
“This past July 16 rejuvenated what they remembered from the past,” he said. “You could see the whole community came together for something and it was very, very great to see. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”