110 years strong, Our Lady marches on
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is carried along West Washington Street in Shenandoah on July 21, 2024.
SHENANDOAH – The statue of Our Lady made her way through the streets of Shenandoah’s west end for the 110th time Sunday morning.
Catholic faithful gathered at St. Casimir’s Church on North Jardin Street for mass followed by the tradition started by Italian Catholics in Shenandoah’s heyday.
This year, the procession made its way down Washington Street, past the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel building.
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – A crowd gathers outside Saint Casimir’s awaiting the statue. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – A cinta is held above a parishioner’s head. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – The statue is carried out of the church. 
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – A man can be seen in Italian attire. In decades past, flags of green, white, and red adorned the entire northwest section of Shenandoah in time for the procession.
Along the way, donations were pinned to the statue and families carried their traditional cintas.
The procession was led by the Shenandoah Police Department and the Upper Schuylkill Marching Band. Shenandoah Ambulance units were staged along the route as well.
Beginning in 1914 as part of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Washington and Diamond Streets, the procession continues as a part of the Divine Mercy Parish, which took over the procession when catholic churches in the Greater Shenandoah Area merged.
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