Mary Johnson Photo
For more than 50 years — or longer than anyone could remember — the hefty statue of St. Andrew the Apostle was always loaded onto a local boat and taken out to New Haven Harbor. There a priest, riding on the boat with a vial of holy water, individually blessed the passing boats in a maritime caravan for a safe season on the waves.
This year the blessing of the fleet, organized by the St. Andrew Apostle Society, which launches its week-long “festa,” happened differently.
Due to technical difficulties finding the right boat, the statue Sunday morning boarded a vessel at the Bruce Johnson Marina in Branford. By noon local craft were lining up to receive holy water sprinkled on passing prows by Father Ralph Collicchio right in the harbor off Long Wharf pier.
Collicchio is the pastor of St. Michael’s Church in Wooster Square, where the original turn-of-the-century statue of Andrew, the patron saint and savior of Amalfi from the Turks, resides. Amalfi is where most early new Italian-American New Haveners hailed from.
For purposes of the blessing of the fleet and the festa, which commences on Thursday night, a heavy facsimile is used.
Sunday morning the statue came aboard in Branford, along with dignitaries from the St. Andrew Apostle Society, which this year is marking its 115th year.
Mary Johnson Photo
The festa commences at 6 p.m. Thursday night at the society’s clubhouse and grounds at 515 Chapel St. and runs through Sunday, June 28. (Click here for a complete list of activities, days, and times for the 2015 edition of the always tasty and old-world festa.)
Theresa Argento, the perennial co-chair of the feast and the president of the 92-year-old Ladies Auxiliary of the society, said she expected about 30 vessels to line up to be blessed, about the same number as last year.
The blessing ceremony is moving, particularly to the older members, added Argento. “We have a wreath that we throw over to remember the dead of the society.”
A dozen people or so who could not get to Branford showed up to view the blessing as landlubbers from Long Wharf Pier.
Allan Appel Photo
They included Fran Calabrese, Andy Calabrese, Jr. (the financial secretary of St. Andrews men’s division), Andrew Donarumo, and Rose Fratio.
Fratio was trying to stifle disappointment about not actually being on the blessing boat this year.
“I’ve been going on the boat since my early 20s,” she said.
She and the others decided they did not, er, want to make waves, as the boat bearing St. Andrew arrived and positioned itself for the blessing.
They said they were fairly certain that next year, the statue and those who for generations have accompanied it will start out in New Haven once again.
Allan Appel Photo
The statue of St. Andrew, aboard the large boat, speeds towards the blessing location.
