{"id":28479,"date":"2026-06-30T01:23:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T05:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=28479"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:27:23","slug":"st-peters-fiesta-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2026\/06\/30\/st-peters-fiesta-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos: St. Peter’s Fiesta In Gloucester"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve been documenting the St. Peter’s Fiesta in Gloucester for three decades now\u2014but this time, the 99th<\/sup>\u00a0year, as I’m recovering from my year of (successful) treatment for cancer, treatment that began just after Fiesta last year, was a special year. I like to attend the last night of the Novena, the end of the nine nights of prayer that open the celebration of Gloucester\u2019s Sicilian-American Catholic commercial fishing community. The Novena is a smaller, quieter event before the madness of the Greasy Pole contest and the rest of the dazzling weekend festivities. This year the Novena offered a Mass, a gorgeous sunset procession down to the sea, and tearful speeches about loved ones lost over the past year\u2014including seven people who died aboard the fishing dragger Lily Jean when it\u00a0sank on Jan. 30. Standing remains difficult for me since cancer, and during the Mass, a mom kindly let me sit in the seat her 3-year-old had been using. I caught up with folks about how our families have been over the past year. I ate strawberry shortcake. I visited with longtime Fiesta acquaintances and some regular Gloucester friends. People prayed for me because of my cancer. I saw, but didn’t get a chance to talk to, the Crazy Hat Ladies, sisters who had looked out for me during my cancer. A nonna gave me a rosary and holy card for my cancer. People invited me to their homes. \u00a0A woman commiserated with me about cancer repercussions and offered advice and gave me her phone number and offered to go to hospital with me. The keeper of the St. Peter statue told me that St. Peter had cured me. I felt the embrace of the Fiesta community, in all its inspirations and complications and love, and it certainly definitely heals me. Viva San Pietro! <3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta in Gloucester, the city\u2019s annual kickoff off summer, is a celebration of Gloucester\u2019s Sicilian-American Catholic commercial fishing community, a yearly homecoming and family reunion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival honors the patron saint of Roman Catholic fisherman. St. Peter is believed to have been a fisherman who became one of Jesus\u2019s 12 apostles, or earliest and closest followers, and he\u2019s traditionally celebrated as the church\u2019s first pope. Gloucester\u2019s festival takes place each year on the weekend closest to his feast day, June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The festival was founded in 1927 after Gloucester fishing captain Salvatore Favazza commissioned a Charlestown sculptor to create a statue of St. Peter, which Favazza showcased in a storefront window and paraded through the streets of Gloucester\u2019s waterfront Sicilian-immigrant neighborhood, the Fort, as the faithful shouted \u201cMe chi samiou, dute mute? Viva San Pietro!\u201d (Roughly: \u201cShout it louder, are we all mute? Long live St. Peter!\u201d) The blessing continues to be shouted during processions and by Greasy Pole walkers and revelers throughout the festival to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Enzo
Enzo DiMaio shouts blessings with the Madonna del Lume during St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession at Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The religious tradition continues as women lead songs and prayers for the first eight evenings of the Novena at the Legion Hall, in an upstairs room where the festival\u2019s St. Peter statue has been set up on a stage. On the ninth evening, a priest leads a Mass there, before men carry the statue out to the street, down to the sea at Beach Court for a blessing, and return it to the window shrine at the St. Peter\u2019s Club on Rogers Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Friday night\u2019s opening ceremonies, the St. Peter statue is paraded back around the Legion Hall then to a temporary altar at St. Peter\u2019s Square, next to the festival carnival. After an outdoor mass in St. Peter\u2019s Square on Sunday morning, the statue of St. Peter and statues and icons of the Madonna and other saints are joined by marching bands and floats for a 2-mile-long procession through downtown Gloucester, stopping for blessings at shrines and churches along the way, before ending at the St. Peter\u2019s Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If this is the kind of coverage of arts, cultures, and nature that you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, occasional newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. Follow us on Instagram<\/a> and tell us what you really think on Facebook<\/a>. (All content \u00a9 Greg Cook 2026 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Father
Father James Achadinha leads the crowd in prayer from the steps of Our Lady of Good Voyage Church during the St. Peter’s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Procession
Procession down to Beach Court following the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Joe
Joe Novello reads tributes to those who’ve died during the last year during the procession down to Beach Court following the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Shouting
Shouting blessings during the procession down to Beach Court following the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Sefatia
Sefatia Romeo Theken shouts blessings during St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Shouting
Shouting blessings during the procession down to Beach Court following the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Yelling
Yelling blessings during the St. Peter’s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Sefatia
Sefatia Romeo Theken shouts blessings during the procession down to Beach Court following the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Father
Father James Achadinha leads the Mass that concludes the Novena at the American Legion Hall in advance of St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Cake
Cake at the end of the Novena at the American Legion Hall in advance of St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Returning
Returning the statue of St. Peter to the St. Peter’s Club on the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Frank
Frank Groppo shouts blessings during St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Shouting
Shouting blessings during St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Pinning
Pinning donations to the St. Peter statue during the Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Pinning
Pinning donations to the St. Peter statue during the Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Shouting
Shouting blessings during St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Rosario
Rosario Maletti shouts blessings during the St. Peter’s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Yelling
Yelling blessings during the St. Peter’s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Frank
Frank Carini walks barefoot in the Sunday Procession of the St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Frank
Frank Carini walks barefoot in the Sunday Procession of the St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Enzo
Enzo DiMaio shouts blessings during the procession down to Beach Court following the last night of the Novena that begins the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester, June 23, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter’s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"St.
St. Peter\u2019s Fiesta Sunday Procession, Gloucester, June 28, 2026. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been documenting the St. Peter’s Fiesta in Gloucester for three decades now\u2014but this time, the 99th\u00a0year, as I’m recovering from my year of (successful) treatment for cancer, treatment that began just after Fiesta last year, was a special year. I like to attend the last night of the Novena, the end of the nine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,119],"tags":[35,84],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28479"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28479"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28489,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28479\/revisions\/28489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}