Regional Government proposes to promote first Holy Spirit Global Forum - Communication

Secretaria Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Comunidades

The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities announced this week in the United States that the Regional Government intends to organise the first Holy Spirit Global Forum in 2025.

Paulo Estêvão, who took part in the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England, explained that the initiative will promote the debate among several experts from the Azores and the Azorean diaspora on the traditional cult of the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.

This Global Forum could be held in tripartite form on the occasion of the Great Feasts of the Holy Ghost, which take place in Ponta Delgada (Azores), New England (United States) and Santa Catarina, Brazil. It could also include a possible event in the town of Alenquer, Mainland Portugal, which is considered the birthplace of this cult.

According to Paulo Estêvão, the festivities celebrating the Holy Spirit are "the most significant cultural manifestation of Azorean identity in the world" and, as such, "deserve an interdisciplinary and international approach capable of addressing their past, present and future."

This same approach, he added, could be extended in the future to a second Global Forum, this time dedicated to the cult of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres (Holy Christ of Miracles), to be held on the occasion of its most representative festivities in the Azores, Canada and Bermuda.

The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities represented the Regional Government at the 38th annual Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England, which was held in the city of Fall River from August 23 to 26. He was accompanied by the Regional Director for the Communities, José Andrade.

Paulo Estêvão spoke on Monday at the closing banquet of the Grand Celebrations, which brought together around 500 people representing the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. On the occasion, he announced that the new Regional Government "intends to continue the principle underpinning the relations with the Azorean communities developed by successive previous governments, regardless of the legitimate ideological differences of each one, while innovating and deepening its actions with its initiatives."

"Most of the people of the Azores live in America," so "we must intensify our presence among the Azorean diaspora," he said, highlighting "the need to strengthen institutional support for associations and the media in our communities."

Paulo Estêvão recalled a historic quote from US President John Kennedy: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". He added: "Our emigrants have already done a lot for the Azores, but now it's time to ask what we can do for our emigrants."

"If there is one thing that unites us in the Azores, it is the defence and recognition of the Azorean diaspora," he said.

On his first official visit to the United States as Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão met with organisations representing the Azorean communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He also took part in the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost in New England and visited the Portuguese-language media in Fall River and New Bedford.

On Tuesday, the fifth and final day of his official programme, the government official travelled to the city of New Bedford to visit the Whaling Museum, which includes an important Azorean gallery, and the House of Saudade, considered the only exclusively Azorean library in the United States.