By Caroline Smith
Maida Vale’s St Francis of Assisi Parish recently hosted its inaugural Flores de Mayo – with a large crowd turning out on Saturday, 7 May to join in the special Filipino celebration which honours the Virgin Mary.
The day began with a procession around the Church grounds, with parishioners stopping at five stations, each representing a different incarnation of Mary, where a special reading of devotion and prayer would be read out, followed by a song.
The five representations included Mother Thrice Admirable – connected with the Schoenstatt order from Germany; India’s Our Lady of Health Vailankanni; Portugal’s Our Lady of Fatima; Our Lady of Penafrancia from the Philippines, and Our Lady of La Vang from Vietnam.
Leading the procession were Parish Priest Father Francis Ly, along with Fr Jeffey Casabuena and commentators, Willy Filamor and Emmy Stephen.
At each station, a member of the community connected with the Marian representation led a reading of the Hail Mary in the relevant language. This included the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary and the Indian, Vietnamese and Filipino communities.
Children from the parish joined the procession dressed as angels in white or in their national costume, and members of the local Legion of Mary were also in attendance.
In a special Mass following the procession, Fr Casabuena recalled his own experience of the Flores de Mayo celebration while growing up in the Philippines, and provided some historical background to the event.
“It was brought to us, to the Philippines, by Spanish missionaries and friars and priests who brought us the Christian faith in the 16th century,” he said.
“They introduced this beautiful devotion and tradition: that every month of May, children would gather in the church or chapel to learn about Mary, to read the Bible stories and learn how to pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.
“I still remember my happy childhood with this beautiful experience, and I believe the Holy Mother has truly been with me my whole life.”
Fr Casabuena said it was timely that Mother’s Day also fell on the same weekend as Flores de Mayo, since Mary’s role as Mother of Jesus and of the Church were both central to this celebration in her honour.
In the Philippines, Flores de Mayo is celebrated during the entire month of May, with activities devoted to Mary held throughout that time. The idea of bringing it to Maida Vale parish came from Jing Jing (Maria) Filamor, the main organiser of the event.
Fellow contributor, Adrian D’Cruz, said it was important that the celebration reflected how Mary was revered in different communities around the world.
“Our Blessed Mother is The Lady of All Nations,” he said.
“We honour and venerate her in numerous incarnations because she gave her only Son, the Redeemer and Saviour of the world, to save us from sin, sin she never knew, freeing us from death with Christ’s promise of eternal salvation. In her spotless glory, there are many Mary’s but only one Mother of God.”
Following the Mass, attendees gathered in the grotto for a fellowship afternoon tea which included sweets and savouries from several of the communities within the parish.