By Rose O’Connor | Correspondent

Tears welled in Teresita Albano’s eyes as she spoke about how meaningful it was for her to participate in the 2017 Flores de Mayo Santacruzan Festival of the Cross in St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton, May 27.

Photo Gallery: Santacruzan Festival

“I am honored, humbled and I am so glad that I am a part of this,” said Albano, a member of St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville, who served as the Reyna Elena, Queen Helen, during the beloved Filipino festival. “I have such a devotion to the Blessed Mother and this fulfills a lifelong dream that began in the Philippines when I was a little girl.”

Sponsored by the Filipino community in St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, this year’s Flores de Mayo Santacruzan, drew more than 100 Filipino faithful from nine Mercer County parishes, where together they marked the tradition that was brought to the Philippines by the Spanish conquerors more than 15 decades ago.

The celebration began with Mass offered by Father Peter James Alindogan, pastor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish, Lavallette, who was joined by St. Raphael-Holy Angels pastor Father Gene Daguplo and parochial vicar Father Jason Parzynski.

The Santacruzan is a well-known religious festival held in many towns and cities in the Philippines as the highlight of the month-long May celebration of Flores de Mayo, a Catholic festival in the Philippines held during May in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Santacruzan refers to the procession of flowers during May and commemorates the mythical event of Queen Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, finding the Holy Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The festival was introduced in the Philippines by the Spaniards 300 years after Christ’s Death and has since become part of the Filipino tradition.

In his homily, Father Alindogan explained how the Santacruzan is a journey or a play from “Point A to Point B” and that “we all have parts in the play.”

“You’re doing something great by showing what it means to follow Jesus and to serve the Cross of Jesus,” said Father Alindogan. “The Cross is there in our hearts and to really embrace it we need to confront the crosses that we carry. My dear friends, we hold on to the Cross of our Lord because that’s our Point B, and the only way to get to that point in life is to embrace the suffering of Jesus, and that’s the whole point of the Santacruzan.  We show forth Jesus, we show forth the Blessed Mother, who also holds close the Cross of Christ.”

The Mass culminated with the crowning of a statue of the Blessed Mother and the sagalas, the young women chosen as examples of feminine qualities and spirituality, singing as they walked out of the church and ready to join in the Santacruzan procession around the parish grounds.

Rita Obed of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, West Trenton, and a first generation Filipino-American, sees the Santacruzan as “an opportunity to extend traditions and create a bridge from the old world to the new world.”

Father Daguplo said he was proud to host the Marian tradition at his parish that also included a dinner and dance following the Mass and procession.

“We are blessed to honor the Blessed Mother and to celebrate the Santacruzan,” he said. “It unites the Filipino community and it allows them to feel at home here.”

The Flores de Mayo Santacruzan also raises funds for the Filipino community in the United States and victims of natural disasters in their homeland.

Sam Mill, who serves as president of the Mercer County Filipino community, shared, the Flores de Mayo Santacruzan reflects “the legacy of our forefathers here in America.”

His wife Beth concurred. “It’s beautiful, and it’s important to continue for the Church of the next generation.”