Africa-Press – Cape verde. Thousands of Catholic faithful gathered this Saturday, 25th, at the Igreja Matriz de Santa Catarina, in Cabeça Carreira, to renew promises and to demonstrate their devotion, faith, hope and love to the patron saint of this municipality in Santiago.
The faithful Catholics and devotees united by a single purpose, to ask Saint Catherine of Alexandria for peace, health, blessings and graces, walked in songs and prayers in the procession in her honor along the Nhagar Cemetery route, in Assomada, to the main church of this holy martyr, who was born in 287 AD, in Alexandria, Egypt, where the mass was celebrated in her honor, presided over by the diocesan priest José Eduardo Afonso.
“Saint Catherine is a saint who moves hearts and awakens feelings of belonging, awareness and the challenge to holiness”, said the priest to Inforpress, moments before the mass celebrated in the presence of priests from other parishes in the Diocese of Santiago.
In this sense, he said that he will seek to share and awaken in the hearts of the faithful present “the posture and character” of this holy martyr, who, despite having lived in a context similar to that of today, that is, “of change, of indefiniteness, of a lot of confusion, and conflict linked to paganism and fanaticism”, he knew how to maintain his Christian identity and character.
He also added that during the homily, he will try to help the Catholic faithful and devotees understand the relevance of the figure of Saint Catherine, and how she was able to provoke dialogue between faith and reason.
“From Saint Catherine we can learn lessons of courage, authenticity and fidelity to the purpose of her own original being, expected and desired by God (…)”, highlighted the religious.
The Santa Catarina festivities, which once again brought together thousands of faithful Catholics from various municipalities on the island of Santiago, especially with a strong presence of local emigrants and not only in Cabeça Carreira, included the participation of the President of the Republic, José Maria Neves, the president of the chamber, Jassira Monteiro, the prime minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, and the president of the National Assembly, Austelino Correia.
After the Eucharistic celebration, the highlight of the festivities on the day of the patron saint Santa Catarina and the Municipality with the same name, which today celebrates its 189th anniversary of its creation, continued with the traditional “popular lunch”, especially in places such as Cabeça Carreira, Cruz Grande, Mancholy, Banana Semedo and surrounding areas, where the party is most prominent.
The municipality of Santa Catarina, in the interior of the island of Santiago, the third largest municipality in Cape Verde, made up of 56 localities, was created in 1834.
With an area of 243 square kilometers, it is considered a rural municipality, where 86% of the population lives in rural areas and essentially engages in rainfed agriculture, livestock farming, poultry farming, fishing and retail trade.
Throughout its history, the municipality was marked by the revolts of Engenhos in 1822, Fonteana in 1835, Ribeirão Manuel in 1910 and several petitions addressed to the Ministry of Overseas by citizens of Santa Catarina in the years 1946, 1962 and 1970, in addition to the support of young people and students for the cause of independence in 1975 and for democracy in 1991, which culminated in the first elections.
To mark the festivities of the patron saint of this municipality in the interior of Santiago, which this year is celebrated under the motto “Nu sta djunto pa Santa Catarina” (We are together for Santa Catarina, in Portuguese), a range of cultural and sporting activities were programmed which have started since the beginning of November, and are still opening.
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