SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — In Scranton, the third day of La Festa Italiana started with worship. The annual Mass in Italian was held Sunday morning at Saint Peter's Cathedral in downtown Scranton.
The non-profit, the Italian colony of Saint Lucy, assisted with the mass.
The organization traces its roots to Italian immigrants of the Greater Scranton area.
They kicked off the morning with prayer in Italian, and of course, Italian music.
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"I think the people enjoy the Italian music, there's a good mix of liturgical music, which would be church music, as well as secular music by the mandolin players and guitar players," Organ Player for the last 28 Years, Eugene Mentz, told 28/22 News.
"We always start the day with prayer, so having the mass on Sunday, you know, celebrating with your Sunday obligation has just been a tradition, a wonderful tradition, here in the Diocese of Scranton," La Festa Italiana Chairman Chris DiMattio explained.
Following the mass, members of the organization carried a statue of Saint Lucy to the festival grounds and displayed it at the Heritage Piazza on Spruce Street.
