Alfredina Da Silva,
T.O. Carm. |
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My name is Maria
Alfredina Sousa de
Vargas Da Silva, Alfredina Da
Silva being the shorter form. I
was born on the island of
Faial in the Azores Islands, a
group of nine islands in the
North Atlantic, sitting on top
of the Middle Atlantic Ridge,
that are part of Portugal.
Born and raised Catholic, I
lived there until a volcano
erupted in 1957 just a few
yards from the southwest
coast of the island. For about
a year and a half, it threw up
ashes, rocks of all sizes, and
lava, changing the landscape
and the lives of the inhabitants.
In 1959, my parents and
I came to California.
Carmel was not new to me
since the Carmelites had been
in the City of Horta, Faial,
since the early 1600’s, when
the colonization of Brazil was
in full swing and they were
taking a major part in the
Christianization of the native
populations. Later, a convent
and a beautiful church (begun
in 1698 and finished in 1797)
were built. A Third Order had
existed in Horta for many
years, and my paternal grandmother
and some of her
friends belonged to it.
Subsequently, three of my
aunts joined that order.
The inhabitants of Faial celebrated
the Feast of Our Lady
of Mount Carmel on July 16,
with much pomp and circumstance.
They had a solemn
Mass at the church, situated
on an advantageous and picturesque
site on top of a hill,
and in the afternoon there
was a big procession through
some of the city streets in
which the vast majority of the
members of the Third Order
participated, some of them
wearing the habits they would
wear for their burial. It was
quite a beautiful and solemn
occasion with the city streets
carpeted with flowers and the
windows and balconies of
residences decorated with silk
bedspreads.
The statue of Our Lady
(not with a brown dress,
but as it used to be during
earlier centuries) was decorated
with beautiful flowers and
carried aloft on the shoulders
of some of the Brothers. The
priest carried the Blessed
Sacrament, accompanied by
two other priests, under a
canopy carried by the
Brothers of the Blessed
Sacrament.
Two or more marching bands
played religious hymns.
Spectators tried to see and
then follow the procession
back to the church, where one
of the priests would preach a
sermon. People came from all
over the island and also from
the neighboring islands of
Pico and Sao Jorge, where
some of the Third Order
members resided. It was
something one couldn't miss.
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