Hundreds Follow St. Ann Through Hoboken During Annual Ritual

Former Hoboken Mayor Pat Pasculli has joined the procession of the 600 pound statue of St. Ann through the streets of Hoboken for the past 30 years. And every year, he said, "it's a renewal of our commitment." He said he has seen the tradition grow "leaps and bounds" over the last three decades.

"It has become a community event," said Pasculli, who served as mayor from 1988 to 1993. "It's a very spiritual day."

The spiritual part of the five-day annual festival occured on Monday morning at the Church of St. Ann during the annual mass, celebrating St. Ann. Although many Hobokenites and visitors had been partying on zeppoles and sausage and peppers for a few days already, the culmination of the feast was the procession of a statue of Jesus Christ's grandmother, carried by 12 women at a time. The statue can only be carried by members of the guild of St. Ann.

The annual tradition of the feast, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, started in 1910 when immigrants from San Giacomo—many of whose descendents are still members of the club by the same name in Hoboken—held a two-day festival on July 25, 1910 in honor of San Giacomo and July 26, 1910 in honor of St. Ann.

According to the Church of St. Ann's website, "Immigrants from Monte San Giacomo and their families traveled great distances to Hoboken for this event. Society members adorned with shawls, sashes and ribbons with the image of St. Ann, processed through the streets as a band played both religious and traditional Italian songs."

The procession, which takes roughly five hours, stops at several places in town where the women who are carrying the statue—men lift St. Ann up, and then hand it over to the women's shoulders—can drink water and have a snack or a sandwich. One of the stops on the route is the San Giacomo club, where a statue of San Giacomo awaits St. Ann in front of the building on Adams Street. 

Earlier on Monday during the mass at 11 a.m. in the church on Seventh and Jefferson Streets, Father Vinny Fortunato, the pastor at the Church of St. Ann, spoke about the importance of tradition. He said he grew up in Long Island, among many Jewish peers, and learned the importance of authentic tradition from them.

"Our faith as Catholics is built on tradition," Fortunato preached, "the teaching of a truth passed from one generation to another."

Archbishop John Myers, who celebrated his own birthday on Monday, also attended the mass, as did several Hoboken elected officials, including Mayor Dawn Zimmer. 

"It's a wonderful tradition," said Zimmer after the mass. "It's amazing that it has gone on for a 100 years."

After the procession, St. Ann's day in the sun ended and the statue was carried back into the church, where she will wait patiently to go out for the 101st time next year.