The FESTA
(FESTA DO DIVINO ESPIRITO SANTO)
(Feast of the Holy Spirit)
It is said that Queen Isabel saved
bread from her own table to give to the hungry. Legend has
it that the King tried to stop her from mingling with the poor
and was once caught hiding something in her cloak. When he
demanded that she open her cloak to show the concealed food,
she said a prayer, threw open her cloak. Instead of bread,
red roses tumbled out. It is for this reason, that the statue
of Queen St. Isabel is depicted with the mantle of flowers.
At one time during Queen St. Isabel’s reign
there was a terrible famine in Portugal. The Queen depleted
all her funds while seeking food for her people; she had no
financial resources left, only her crown the symbol of her
royalty state. One morning, at Mass, she promised the Holy
Spirit, “I will give my crown to the Church if you will
send me a miracle, so my people will be relieved of their hunger.”
As she left the church, she saw ships coming
into the harbor, loaded with wheat and corn! For over 700 years
Portuguese people have celebrated this event in the Festa do
Espirito Santo or Feast of the Holy Spirit to intercede in
time of danger or calamities.
For over 700 years Portuguese people have celebrated
this event in the Festa do Espirito Santo or Feast of the
Holy Spirit to intercede in time of danger or calamities.
In San Diego, the Festa is the oldest ethnic religious
celebration, dating back to the time when the first families
settled here in 1884 and was formally organized in 1910.
Today, as it was intended in 1922, the Chapel is
used to house the Crown of the Holy Spirit during the Festa.
On Pentecost Sunday, devotees of the Holy Spirit visit the Chapel
to pray and offer a donation of monies or Portuguese Sweet Bread-which
is sold to raise monies- to assure the continuation of this unique
ethnic religious celebration.
