Lady of Fátima Feast

In 1939, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Hudson Portuguese Club adopted as their patron saint, Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima, and decided in conjunction with the Club to have an annual feast in Her Honor. The weekend closest to July 13 was, in the beginning, the designated date for such Holy event. It initially consisted of a Sunday procession from the Portuguese Club to the Church. The Club and the neighbors were then participants in Christ the King Parish. A High Mass was celebrated, and the congregants returned in procession to the Portuguese Club grounds. The procession was followed by lunch and a band concert. On Saturday evening there was a musical concert and display of fireworks that attracted thousands of people.

In 1951 a chapel was erected by the late John P. Rio, the Club paying only for the materials used in the construction. Near the chapel and the Club, a monument to Peter Francisco, a Portuguese-American revolutionary war hero, was erected and dedicated during Our Lady of Fátima Feast in 1971, with the presence of then Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Humberto Sousa Medeiros. In early 1980’s this chapel suffered extensive fire damage, when the Town’s Light and Power were making improvements to the electric systems in the area. A new and slightly larger chapel was constructed.

In 2001 the feast of Our Lady of Fátima was celebrated in a special way, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the erection of the first chapel, and with a special tribute to the memory of John P. Rio.

António J. Chaves and his wife Margarida, who lived in a house adjacent to the Club, had been for many decades the caretakers of the chapel for which we are all deeply indebted. Today the caretakers of Our Lady’s Chapel are Joaquim and Zaira Pires of Hudson.

The Feast of Our Lady of Fátima has been celebrated at different times during the year to maximize the participation of all residents. Since 1998 the date for the feast has been established as the first weekend after Labor Day.