For eighty-eight years, the St. Mary of Carmen Society (for Italian men) has dedicated itself and its annual “Festa” to nurturing and celebrating the Nonantum community. At its inception, it was the inspiration of a group of Italian immigrants who decided to form a “mutual benefit society” to help member families in need of money for food or funeral expenses. The Italian community was part of the larger parish — Our Lady Help of Christians Church, which was completed in 1881 by a descendent of the village’s earlier Irish immigrants. Wanting to preserve their connection to Italy and their heritage, the Society’s founding members determined to create a statue of St. Mary of Carmen — like the statues of the Madonna in the Italian churches — and celebrate her feast day, July 16th, with a five-day carnival and festival. As Roger Marrocco, the Society’s historian, noted in its 88th Anniversary book, no one knows the reason that St. Mary of Carmen was chosen to be the Society’s patron saint.
Having decided on the saint, the Society raised $900 (nearly $20,000 in today’s dollars and a daunting sum during the Depression) and went in search of a Boston artisan who could translate their vision into the statue. Sadly, there is no record of the artist who produced the plaster-and-horsehair rendition of St. Mary of Carmen. Nonetheless, she has been the radiating force for the festival and for its celebratory conclusion every third Sunday in July since 1936.
The Sunday tradition begins by bringing the statue from her special place in a downstairs chapel at Our Lady’s and placing her on small flat-bed wagon. She is borne through the streets of Nonantum on a wagon, accompanied by Society members, community members, and a marching band. A large bell mounted on a truck is part of the procession and heralds its advance.
In keeping with tradition, the statue is “dressed” with several sashes to which people have pinned dollars, jewelry, mementos — such as a Pop Warner patch — and many mass cards including those of the three recent Nonantum homicide victims: Lucia Arpino, Jill D’Amore, and Bruno D’Amore. Mrs. Arpino’s mass card includes a picture of the statue, and it was pinned to the statue by family members to honor the three victims. Overarching the statue is a metal frame of artificial flowers interwoven with tiny lights.
Several years ago, when the Society realized the statue was in need of restoration, several members consulted curators at the Museum of Fine Arts, who determined that their St. Mary of Carmen was, as the long-serving Festival Chair, Chuck Proia reported, “literally priceless,” because they could find nothing like it. MFA artists carefully repaired and repainted her; her crumbling hands were wired and covered with fresh plaster. She and the infant Jesus seem both real and ethereal. In fact, the Madonna’s eyes look off into the distance and seem to have tears welling in them. Her expression betrays a sense of the pain and transformation awaiting her. At the same time, the quality of the sculpture and paint give her a softness – an almost human feel that has brought comfort to a community for almost a century.
On Sunday, when the statue was covered in layers of plastic to protect it from the pelting rain enroute from the church through the very wet streets in the afternoon and brought back again in the dark night, it nevertheless was the focal point of familiarity and comfort for a recently shattered community suffering the loss of three honored, active members. The Statue of St. Mary of Carmen was fulfilling her designated mission.
With gratitude to Festival Chair Chuck Proia for his generous assistance in providing information and access to the statue.
