Currently en route to Tampa...
An old tradition brought to new life...
Many of you have heard about our desire to bring a Marian procession to Tampa and thanks to some generous donations we are now the owners of a painting of Madonna Del Lume, a copy of which can be seen below, and the processional litter to carry said painting through the streets of Tampa.
The painting came as a gift from a private individual and the processional litter was donated to us (after a small donation by one of our members) by the Madonna Del Lume Society of Milwaukee. This is the original processional litter carried through the streets of Milwaukee by Italian-American immigrants through the past century. Lacking the man-power to carry the original processional litter our friends in Milwaukee have since built a lighter version. Knowing we were not lacking for man-power we gladly accepted the original.
This processional litter is currently being shipped to Tampa where it will be stored on the property of one of our Fraternal Society members (to whom we are greatly indebted). There was however a significant cost (~$4,000) in shipping this item from Milwaukee to the Tampa area. We are asking if in your generosity you could help us offset some of these costs so that we may continue to invest in planning the procession and all that will go into that for our Diocese.
You may make a tax deductible donation to this cause via the link below:
You may learn more about the history of this beautiful devotion here and check out what the original Madonna Del Lume celebration looks like today in Porticello, Sicily.