2021 Feast Information
Please see the letter below from our Pastor in regards to the 2021 Feast.
POSTPONEMENT OF SAINT SEBASTIAN FEAST TO SEPTEMBER 17-19, 2021
Dear Parishioners and Devotees,
Year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of Saint Sebastian Feast in Middletown. Our continued devotion to Saint Sebastian over a century is unique in our diocese and in New England. Early Italian immigrants from Melilli brought this Feast and Tradition to our beloved City of Middletown and began honoring our Patron Saint from 1921 onward. We remember prayerfully and gratefully all our ancestors whose dedicated devotion to the Saint Sebastian is our common heritage, and we carry on that legacy even today.
This year is also marked by a Pandemic that disrupted our personal and social lives. Traditional celebration in the month of May does not look safe enough for large gatherings. Though vaccinations are in progress, we fear that a comfortable ease to gather in large numbers will be limited. This year being our centennial celebration deserves a greater participation.
After consulting with the Feast General Committee and our First Feast Meeting participants on January 31, we decided to move the Feast Celebration to September 17-19. This date is tentative. I am confident that we will have a clear grasp of the state of the Pandemic in the coming months. I urge you to pray that free from fear or anxiety we all can participate with joy and enthusiasm in the new date.
I invite you to spread the new date by word of mouth or by means of your social media.
May Saint Sebastian watch over you and protect you always.
Yours Devotedly in Our Lord,
Fr. James Thaikoottathil, Pastor
Dear Parishioners and Devotees,
Year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of Saint Sebastian Feast in Middletown. Our continued devotion to Saint Sebastian over a century is unique in our diocese and in New England. Early Italian immigrants from Melilli brought this Feast and Tradition to our beloved City of Middletown and began honoring our Patron Saint from 1921 onward. We remember prayerfully and gratefully all our ancestors whose dedicated devotion to the Saint Sebastian is our common heritage, and we carry on that legacy even today.
This year is also marked by a Pandemic that disrupted our personal and social lives. Traditional celebration in the month of May does not look safe enough for large gatherings. Though vaccinations are in progress, we fear that a comfortable ease to gather in large numbers will be limited. This year being our centennial celebration deserves a greater participation.
After consulting with the Feast General Committee and our First Feast Meeting participants on January 31, we decided to move the Feast Celebration to September 17-19. This date is tentative. I am confident that we will have a clear grasp of the state of the Pandemic in the coming months. I urge you to pray that free from fear or anxiety we all can participate with joy and enthusiasm in the new date.
I invite you to spread the new date by word of mouth or by means of your social media.
May Saint Sebastian watch over you and protect you always.
Yours Devotedly in Our Lord,
Fr. James Thaikoottathil, Pastor
Feast History
In 1921, the Italian Catholics created a committee to celebrate the Feast of Saint Sebastian. Committees were also formed to raise the necessary funds for the Feast which included two bands, which paraded in Italian Quarters, St. Sebastian Mass at St. John Church, an auction sale, a band concert, and fireworks!
East Court Street was the Italian commercial area of Middletown. In 1925, someone suggested placing a statute of St. Sebastian in what could be called a quasi-chapel located in a vacant store on East Court Street. The faithful practiced devotion to the Saint, offering money in thanksgiving for favors received and for many years these donations were mailed to the Feast of St. Sebastian in Melilli. This was a divine message from St. Sebastian that he wanted a Church in Middletown the same as the basilica in Melilli.
Since 1921, the Feast has occurred every year.
East Court Street was the Italian commercial area of Middletown. In 1925, someone suggested placing a statute of St. Sebastian in what could be called a quasi-chapel located in a vacant store on East Court Street. The faithful practiced devotion to the Saint, offering money in thanksgiving for favors received and for many years these donations were mailed to the Feast of St. Sebastian in Melilli. This was a divine message from St. Sebastian that he wanted a Church in Middletown the same as the basilica in Melilli.
Since 1921, the Feast has occurred every year.
Photo Credit: The Middletown Press