 – Big Party){kind=link}
Considered the biggest manifestation of faith south of Fatima, the Festa da Mãe Soberana returns, after the 2020 edition was not held due to the risk of spreading the new coronavirus. This year, with the ongoing lack of definition, the event will take place in a different format, without a procession, with most of the initiatives taking place at the Sanctuary and transmitted on digital platforms. Thus, from April 4 to 18, pilgrims will be able to experience this cult in cyberspace, through a religious and cultural program.
In this edition, the image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade will not remain for fifteen days in the city of Loulé. You will leave your little Chapel just to stay, in the period between the two festive moments, a few meters away, in the sanctuary next door.
In keeping with tradition, the celebrations will begin on April 4, Easter Sunday, the day that marks the Small Party. But this time, at 17:00, the Men of Andor will place the Image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade in the Sanctuary, where the solemn Easter Mass will take place. It is from there that, between April 5 and April 16, at 9:00 pm, the recitation of the rosary and the Eucharist with Easter catechesis will be transmitted online, via the Facebook of the Municipality of Loulé and the Parish.
D. Francisco Senra Coelho, Archbishop of Évora, will preside over the masses included in the Festa Grande, on the 17th, at 9:00 pm (dedicated to Families and Youth) and 18, at 4:00 pm (consecration), both broadcast online. The celebrations culminate in the most emotional moment that is the return of the image of the patron to her home. This time on a shorter route (between the Sanctuary and the Chapel) and without the physical presence of thousands of faithful, but certainly with a lot of emotion for the louletanos.
“With Mary, pilgrims of the Light! – A new Day is beginning ”is the message of hope that the Church intends to transmit to the faithful in carrying out these Marian celebrations, in a pandemic context in which spiritual values are becoming more important.