D. Armando Esteves Domingues, bishop of Angra, presided on Sunday over the main religious celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Feast of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The prelate, who was bearing a special apostolic blessing from Pope Leo XIV, praised the emigrant Azorean community for not being afraid to speak of God and for preserving its religious identity.
In his homily, the bishop of Angra spoke about forgiveness based on that Sunday's Gospel, which refers to the passage where Jesus explains that one must forgive up to seventy times seven. D. Armando Esteves Domingues stated that the forgiveness received cannot remain locked within each person and that one must also forgive even when it hurts. The prelate also prayed for a heart capable of forgiving and loving without fear, emphasizing that whoever puts on Christ cannot simply reproduce the grammar of the world.
The festivities were marked by the inauguration of a monument of the City Gates of Ponta Delgada, built with stone from the island of São Miguel, in front of the Church of Our Lady of Fatima. It is the second replica on the American continent, after the one in Fall River, United States, in 2006. The bishop described the gates as a symbol of connection to origins, culture, and faith, but also of openness and dialogue with the country that welcomed the Azorean emigrants.
The celebrations began with the Mass of the Sick on Thursday, September 10, and included the transfer of the image and the great procession on Sunday. They concluded with the Offerings Procession on Monday, September 14. The Brotherhood of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles of Brampton maintains a close connection with the sanctuary in Ponta Delgada, having offered in 2021 a cape for the image that was used in the processions in the Azores.
