Holy Ghost feast and procession celebrate tradition
By Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
Westport, MA
The annual Holy Ghost Feast on Saturday and Sunday, July 8 and 9, attracted hundreds of celebrants from all quarters of the region. Dancing and dining were the mainstays of Saturday’s celebration that was held in the Holy Ghost Club at 171 Sodom Road. A procession down a short stretch of Sodom Road after Sunday mass at Our Lady of Grace Church, followed by lunch and a live auction in the pavilion next to the club building, capped the two-day event.
Feast is the operative word here. Food has been a key ingredient of the celebration since its inception in Portugal centuries ago. Traditional Portuguese dishes, cacouila (pronounced cah-sair-la) were served on Saturday night, and sopas and favas on Sunday along with chourico, hot dogs, and hamburgers.
For many in the Portuguese community this is a highly anticipated annual weekend, a time to get caught up on family news and tell stories of the old days or ways. For a group of about twenty-five volunteers though, it’s a labor-intensive weekend of organizing a party for several hundred guests. 
The old saying “too many cooks spoil the broth,” does not apply in this kitchen. Friday, men cut roast beef and chourico (pork) into chunks, set up the huge cast iron ovens, organized the big fridges to accommodate the trays laden with what would be served on Saturday and Sunday. Women peeled potatos, prepared the stock for sopas, cut cabbage, kale and onions, prepared beans for the traditional favas soup, and laughed as they shared family stories.
“We’re the best crew here,” Joyce Araujo said as she sat with Albertina Santos, Bernadette Correira, and Jane Medeiros, who cheered heartily in agreement.
“Favas is a Portuguese ethnic dish,” said Barbara Medeiros of Westport, the club’s former secretary for eight years, as she stirred a huge aluminum pot filled with fava beans, onions, ground chourico, crushed red pepper, garlic, oil, and tomato sauce. “If there’s a Portuguese feast, there’s favas.” If the number of gargantuan pots being stirred was any indicator, this was going to be a very big feast.
“What’s next, boss?” Frank Ray asked Holy Ghost president Frank Lopes of Fall River. Lopes is not only the Club’s president for the past 12 years, but in charge of spicing the “carne”, the meat served on Sunday. Sodom Road resident and twenty-five year member Ray, the club’s treasurer, measured spices into each pan of meat, as his wife Wendy, a fourteen-year member, and another volunteer followed adding wine, garlic and other essentials. 
“I don’t do this alone, I get lots of help,” Mr. Lopes said as he orchestrated the production with authority and no recipe in sight. “98% of the people helping are members of the club but we would welcome anyone to join us, any nationality, any religion,” Lopes said.
Sunday’s lunch and auction took place in the pavilion, which houses an industrial sized kitchen and prep area, an informal dining area dominated by five long picnic tables, and the tiny chapel dedicated to Queen Elizabeth of Portugal. Sunday’s procession ended at the chapel as a Portuguese band from New Bedford played the Portuguese hymn, Portuguese national anthem and the United States national anthem.
The original Holy Ghost feast was celebrated during the reign of Queen Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal, who lived from 1271 to 1336. There are several variants explaining the original feast but wide agreement about the queen’s devotion to her people and to the Holy Spirit. The Azores suffered destructive earthquakes and volcano eruptions in the 1200s and the islanders prayed to the Holy Ghost for relief. A ship arrived in Fayal bearing necessities, which were distributed to the people in various islands. In a procession held later in Portugal, Queen Elizabeth left her crown on the altar as thanks for the intervention of the Holy Ghost that saved her people. She began a tradition of feeding the poor at Pentecost. Since then, Azoreans have commemorated her charity in an annual procession displaying her eight-sided crown.
At 11:30 Sunday morning, a parade of men, women, and children marched a quarter mile from Ridgeline Drive to the Holy Ghost Club. A replica of Queen Elizabeth’s eight-sided crown was placed in the chapel.
By noon the aromas of chourico, favas, and sopas lured about 150 people to fill the five long picnic tables inside the pavilion. Extra large sized bowls of sopas were brought to the tables and the hungry pilgrims dug in heartily. In the charitable spirit of Queen Elizabeth, the sopas was free. Diners could pay for chourico, cacouila sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, or favas or for beverages served at a small concession beside the pavilion. 
“I’ve been coming here for since my grandmother brought me when I was 14 years old,” George Lewis of Westport said as he sat with his wife Mary Lou. One can envision one of the youngsters present saying the same thing to one of their grandchildren in years to come.
The live auction, presided over by Mr. Lopes, began after the second seating of diners. Proceeds from the auction help maintain the club’s upkeep. Many bidders on dozens of donated items purchase an item, then in the name of beloved relative who has passed away, give it right back to the auctioneer to sell again. Assisted by his son Mark Lopes of Fall River and Richie Medeiros of Westport, the auction went well into the afternoon.
“This is lots of fun, but it’s lots of work too,” Mr. Medeiros said as he cheerfully delivered auction items to winning bidders.
Events like this are the glue of ethnic communities. Portuguese-Americans from places like Fairhaven, Fall River, Assonet, New Bedford and several Rhode Island towns mixed with Westport residents who take pride in the ethnic diversity of the town.
You don’t have to wait till next year to enjoy hospitality at the Holy Ghost Club. The club hosts a dance every Saturday night and welcomes guests and potential new members.
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Sidebars:
Sopas: kale, cabbage, and onions are cooked in a stock made with soup bones, salt and pepper. The soup is poured over thick slices of day-old Portuguese bread. Boiled peeled potatoes are added into a family sized bowl and a sprig of fresh spearmint is laid on top.
Carne: chunks of roast beef (carne), tender after being marinated for hours in wine, spices, salt/pepper, onion, garlic, are served with the sopas.
Favas: fava beans, onions, ground chourico, crushed red pepper, garlic, oil, tomato sauce
Holy Ghost Club:
177 Sodom Road, Westport, MA
To become a member or to rent the club or grounds, call 508-636-3661.
The club hosts a dance every Saturday night, guests welcome.
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