The photo below was taken during the 2019 St. Ann Italian Festival. Fr. Remo, our former pastor, is pictured with Marie Totaro, our beloved festival chairwoman for 30 years, who passed away in 2020. Also pictured is Mario Ferrara, our current festival chairman.
Marie had a life-long devotion to St. Ann and worked tirelessly on behalf of St. Ann Church.

Mama Marie we remember you always;
please continue to watch over us!!
 

The History of Saint Ann's Feast

Written by: Marie Totaro Versaci

he history of the United States as a nation is barely over two hundred years. The United States in its two hundred year history has welcomed people from all over the world. Many of those who emigrated to this country brought with them cultural and religious traditions which pre-dated the formation of the United States by hundreds of years.

Among the people who came to the U.S. were men and women from a small town nestled in the peaks of the Apennine Mountains. They lived in the town of Monte San Giacomo (Province of Salerno, Italy) named after St.James the Apostle.

This little hamlet, of less than three thousand people, saw many of its sons and daughters depart for the great land across the sea, where they hoped to make a better life for themselves and their families.

However, despite the great distance which separated them from their homeland, the San Giacomese, most of whom settled in the Metropolitan area and principally in Hoboken, maintained sentimental feelings for their place of origin. In the early days of their arrival in a new land with a strange language and customs, the immigrants encountered many difficulties and endured many social, economic, and political hardships. During this period, the newly arrived San Giacomese drew strength from their communal ties. They were bound together by the love of their homeland and religion. The desire to maintain their traditional values and religious customs inspired them to establish the St. Ann’s Society (Societa’ S. Anna), an organization which would be a means of bringing the people even closer together and promote their ideals.

The members, who were not at all affluent, originally met in a basement at Fourth and Jefferson Streets. With the passage of time, the Society’s membership increased and the members were able to purchase a storefront property at Seventh and Adams Streets. In the meantime (1900), St. Ann’s Parish (Parrochia di S. Anna) was newly created, and the priests were saying Mass and holding religious services in a small area of the storefront which had been converted into a chapel.

A short time later, the parish purchased a parcel of land at the corner of Seventh and Jefferson Streets, as the site for a future church and rectory. This dream was soon to be realized by the laying of the cornerstone on November 8, 1903 and finally with the completion of the church in 1906.  The successful construction of the church inspired the Society to develop plans for a celebration or festa, that would serve to honor St. Ann, strengthen their devotion and preserve a cherished tradition.

A committee was formed to devise and execute the plans for the festa. Meetings were held months in advance of the projected feast day. In order to raise the money to finance the feast, members circulated from door to door, not only in Hoboken, but wherever their fellow townsmen and relatives were to be found. They traveled by train, subway and ferry to the far reaches of the metropolitan area and beyond. Their devotion to St. Ann and the desire to honor her spurred them tirelessly to achieve their goal. The months of planning and hard work came to fruition with the inauguration of the St. Ann’s Feast, along with the feast of San Giacomo, in 1910. A two day festival was held July 25th in honor of San Giacomo and July 26th in honor of St. Ann.

Music with operatic singers was featured both evenings for the public’s entertainment, but the main event was the July 26th procession of Saint Ann’s statue and a large framed picture of San Giacomo through the streets of Hoboken.

Immigrants from Monte San Giacomo and their families traveled great distances to Hoboken for this big event. Society members adorned with shawls, sashes and ribbons St. Ann would walk in a procession through the streets for hours with their families and other citizens of Hoboken. Thousands of people walked — the young, the old, pregnant women, women in bare feet (as a sacrifice), all walking on the hot cobblestone streets paying homage to Saint Ann. Saint Ann (known as the patron saint for pregnant women) was thought to have been sterile, but conceived the Blessed Mother very late in life. To this day pregnant women and women wishing to have children turn to her for help.

All the people walked to the sound of a band playing religious, as well as, popular music. The procession continued through the streets, stopping many times for long intervals so the people could express their devotion by having firework displays.  People would stand outside their homes waiting for a glimpse of St. Ann’s statue, which was draped with a sash adorned with jewelry, donated by the faithful. As the procession continued through the streets, people on the sidewalks, as well as, those perched on their window ledges, would make a donation by sending money down in a basket to have it pinned onto Saint Ann or to light the various sized candles that were on a cart being pulled by young girls. The candles were another tradition of the motherland. Back in San Giacomo, when someone had been granted a special favor or wish, there were tremendous displays of candles, often times 4 tiers high. The “cinto” as it was called, was carried on the head of a young girl, so that everyone in the town would know that a special favor had been granted. The years went by with the Society members and women from Monte San Giacomo continuing to work hard in the name of Saint Ann, which now stands in the niche on the main altar. The women got together and made a beautiful cape, and one of the society members had new banners made for both Saint Ann and San Giacomo.

The society continued to operate as a group until 1935, at which time its members formed what is now the Monte San Giacomo Club. The club members assumed the responsibility of the feast continuing all the traditions of the past.

Word had begun to spread of St. Ann’s feast. Because the automobile had not made such an impact on society, bus loads of people came from as far away as Pennsylvania. The buses would arrive early morning so that the people could attend Mass (which was full to capacity with people standing on the steps outside) and then walk in the procession.  They had come to honor St. Ann, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus.

The war years came and more and more people (especially women), flocked to Hoboken seeking special favors from Saint Ann. The procession which had grown in size was now seven hours long and the 600 pound statue of Saint Ann was now carried by eight or ten women. Although the statue was carried by women, as the procession approached the last two blocks of its journey, it was still traditional for the men from Monte San Giacomo to place Saint Ann’s statue upon their shoulders and carry her home to Saint Ann’s church.

The people from Monte San Giacomo continued to sponsor the feast until 1953, at which time Saint Ann Church assumed the responsibility of organizing it, with many of the original members becoming part of the church committee. Many generations have since passed and new groups of immigrants have settled in Hoboken. Today 100 years later, the General Chairperson of the feast and most of the committee members are direct descendants of the early settlers from Monte San Giacomo.  The tradition of Saint Ann’s feast continues with the same devotion and in the same spirit that inspired the founders of the Società S. Anna.
 

You can read about the Origin of San Giacomo
by clicking here.