The Amazing Story of New York City's Feast of the Assumption Procession in Chinatown
The Amazing Story of New York City's Feast of the Assumption Procession in Chinatown
From a forest in China to the streets of Manhattan, China’s underground Church is underground no more
Around the world, there are many ways that the Solemnity of the Assumption is celebrated. In Paris, a silver statue of the Blessed Mother is transported by boat along the Seine River. In Madrid, the locals don colorful attire and dance through the streets. But in New York, there is a celebration that tops them all, and amazingly, it began only 30 short years ago in Chinatown.
The story begins decades ago in the depths of the forests near the Fujian Province on the Chinese coastline. The region was a missionary territory of the Spanish Dominicans in the late 19th century. Their legacy lives on, as evidenced by the large Catholic population that remains today.
After the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 and the rise to power of Mao Zedong, Catholics, and other religious groups were forced to align themselves with state-approved/run versions of their Faith, which were regulated and adapted to conform with the government standard, often in opposition to the true beliefs.
Those desiring to remain faithful Catholics were forced to practice and worship secretly, which set the foundation for the underground Catholic Church of China. By the mid-1960s, amid a rising tide of religious persecution and violence, the underground Church had to go to extreme lengths to practice the Faith secretly or risk imprisonment or worse.
The Significance of the Solemnity of the Assumption
Not as well known as Christmas or Easter by the police, who would be on the lookout for clandestine religious activities, the Solemnity of the Assumption presented a unique opportunity to gather in prayer and beg Mary’s intercession as a faith community. So on the evening of the Assumption after midnight, Catholics would make their way into the forests to hold a candlelight procession in honor of the Blessed Mother.
But that’s only the first part of this epic story.
In the late 1980s, human trafficking and smuggling in the region had reached critical levels. A person wishing to flee China to the United States could pay $20,000, $2,000 upfront and then, upon arrival in the United States, sell themselves into slavery — as a worker in a business such as a Chinese restaurant or laundry while receiving no pay — for two years to pay off the debt to smugglers.
During this time, a small group of Catholics from the Fujian Province were smuggled out. They were ultimately granted citizenship in the United States. And like countless millions of immigrants and refugees before them, they ended up in America’s Melting Pot … New York City.
In 1994 this group arrived at the Church of the Transfiguration doorstep in Chinatown, popularly known as “The Immigrants’ Church.” They approached the pastor, Fr. Raymond Nobiletti, with a simple request: to have an Assumption procession as they had done back home but during the day.
Fr. Nobiletti, moved by their story, helped them organize. And on August 14, 1994, they took to the streets rejoicing in the freedom to celebrate their Faith as they never could have before and thanking the Blessed Mother for their answered prayers.
Word of this spread like wildfire throughout the Chinese-American community, and now, a mere 28 years later, on the 2nd Sunday of August, New Yorkers are greeted by the sounds of countless raised voices proclaiming the Hail Mary in Cantonese as a marching band plays the Salve Regina for a two-hour long procession through the corridors of lower Manhattan.
What began as a top-secret worship operation in the depths of a forest in China has become one of the largest Marian events in the grandest of all cities, demonstrating once again the power of persevering Faith. And the torch-bearing Lady that stands tall at the city’s gates can be proud again of that for which she stands, as those whom she embraces with the loving arms of liberty celebrate their freedom by honoring the Lady through whom all graces flow.
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The Solemnity of the Assumption – Chinatown, NYC
It feels like another world
It’s narrow, winding streets, brimming with activity
Street merchants lining the blocks with open air markets selling everything from the daily catch to t-shirts—all labeled with symbols in a language I can’t even begin to fathom
The smells, from that of the familiar city streets to the curious culinary creations adding yet another layer to the otherworldly feel
As I made my way near the Mulberry Bend—at one time the most dangerous place in all of New York, with its abject poverty and warring gangs—a familiar site appeared…
The Church of the Transfiguration.
It sits just at the Bend on the corner of Mott and Mosco Street…the one time deadly alley in an age gone by
How appropriate
A textbook example of “Where sin abounds, Grace abounds all the more”
As I crossed over the threshold between its towering doors, despite the reality that I surrounded by a culture very unfamiliar to me
I felt like I just arrived home
That, is one of the universal Truths of the Catholic Faith.
That despite our cultural divides, we are all united as one
As family…
In the Body of Christ
As the Mass concluded, the packed church spilled out onto the city street to process in celebration of the Solemnity of the Assumption
A devotion very near and dear to the hearts of those hailing from the Fujian Province in China
I’ll leave it at this
No one will ever mistake New York for Heaven
But perhaps in the richness of its diversity of cultures
It creates a symphony of praise
And maybe, just maybe
Buried deep within the soul of this broken city there’s Hope
Evil may have its moment
But Grace always, everywhere, without exception, prevails
And to that point
How incredible that streets that once ran red with gangs' blood now is home to one of New York City's largest Marian events.
Go figure :-)
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You have my heartfelt thanks for your generosity and support and please keep me in your prayers, and know of mine for each of you. God Bless, Jeff
I had no idea of how important this feast was to the Church in China. This was a fascinating piece to read. Thank you, Jeffrey!
Thank you, Jeff. I’m constantly encouraged by your posts.