The Mayor of Viana do Castelo today announced a field Mass in honor of Senhora d’Agonia that will take place in the public space located in front of the temple of the patron saint of fishermen and which will have a capacity for 800 people.
“The entire garden space in front of the sanctuary of Nossa Senhora d’Agonia will be closed. Let’s put 800 chairs. There will be entry and exit points, so that all the rules are fulfilled and the city patron can be celebrated ”, said José Maria Costa today.
This year, for the first time in more than 248 years, because of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the numbers of the Romaria d’Agonia, which runs from the 19th to the 23rd, and which are usually lived on the streets of the city, will be celebrated in digital format, due to the restrictions imposed by the covid-19 pandemic.
Today, in declarations to journalists at the end of the council meeting, the socialist mayor explained that the follow-up to the mass at the camp will take place in “articulation with the parish of Monserrate and the support of the scouts”.
“We usually didn’t have that many people in the Eucharistic celebration. This year, as there is no procession, not so many people come. There is a comfortable space with social distance for people to comply with the rules ”, he said.
At stake is the celebration of the 20th of August, dedicated to Our Lady of Agonia, patron saint of men of the sea. Initially it had been announced that the date would be celebrated in person, in the church dedicated to him in Campo d’Agonia, but with limitations determined by the health authorities and the Portuguese Episcopal Confederation regarding liturgical celebrations.
The cult of Senhora d’Agonia has its first reference written in 1744. The procession to the river and the sea, in its honor, has always been held on August 20, since 1968, a number that usually gathered thousands of people on the banks of the Lima River to see and greet the procession, involving over a hundred fishing and recreational vessels.
In addition to the camp mass, José Maria Costa said that, at the dock, where the bishop of the diocese celebrated his homily, before the procession to the sea and the river, there will be another symbolic moment.
“The trawler Monsignor Daniel Machado will be installed on the dock, where the bishop usually held the celebration, and inside it will be placed an image of Senhora d’Agonia”, he specified.
José Maria Costa also said that “the party commission will put four floats on display in the main squares of the city to give a party signal, despite the constraints” imposed by the pandemic of covid-19.
“One of the cars will have the party poster, and the other will be the one for the famous Caravel”, referring to one of the emblematic cars of the historic-ethnographic procession.
Regarding the remaining two floats, it was unnecessary to reveal more details.
This year, according to José Maria Costa, Câmara is going to give support of around 150 thousand euros to the party commission to support the initiatives that will mark the 2020 edition, such as “exhibitions, content production, fireworks for dawns, among others.
“This year, the value is much lower. Normally, in the Agonia festivals we had an investment of half a million euros, either in transfers of funds from the municipality or in the exploitation of the land by the party committee. This year the value is substantially lower, but there are expenses with several initiatives that we have taken on. It was not possible to have the party in the conventional way, but there are things that we could and should do to give the city an air of celebration for those who visit us ”, he said.
The covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 749,000 deaths and infected more than 20.6 million people in 196 countries and territories, according to a report by the French agency AFP.
In Portugal, 1,770 people died of the 53,548 confirmed to be infected, according to the most recent bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health.
The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December in Wuhan, a city in central China.
After Europe succeeded China as the center of the pandemic in February, the American continent is now the one with the most confirmed cases and the most deaths.
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