Flores de Mayo - Santacruzan 2008

The Filipino Catholic Community (FCC) in the Diocese of Essen celebrated the Flores de Mayo / Santacruzan last May 31 in Kamillushaus, Essen Heidhausen. It was, indeed, a successful celebration!

The weather

Days before the celebration, the weather broadcasters predicted that Saturday, May 31, would be rainy and cloudy. It would not be an ideal day for grill parties and picnics. The prediction was not that bad. It remained dry almost the whole day, and it started to rain only in the evening.

Preparation

The celebration included the sale of Filipino delicacies. In order to have a better place, many vendors came early in the morning to set up their booths or tindahan. The smell of native delicacies like pansit, siopao, nilagang mais, abodo, etc. filled the air. Guests from every direction started to arrive. Even reporters from local newspapers like WAZ, the Blickpunkt Werden, the Werden Kurier came to conduct interviews and take pictures they needed for their actual reports.

The Procession

At around 1:00 PM, everybody gathered in front of Kamillushaus for the start of the procession. The sagalas in their beautiful and colourful costumes, led the procession; then followed the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary perched on a float decorated with fresh and selected flowers courtesy of Ofelia Schäfer & co. The altar boys, the priests, the choir and the faithful walked in a long line behind the float. During the procession, the Holy Rosary was prayed, backed up with several Marian songs. Because of the ongoing road construction along Heidhausersrasse, the procession passed through Kamillusweg, reaching Stefan Tembories Ring, and back to Kamillushaus.

The Holy Mass

The Vicar General of the Diocese of Essen, Prelate Dieter Schümmelfeder, presided at the Eucharistic celebration. The concelebrants were: Fr. Dietmar Weber, Fr. Manny Tamayo, Fr. Arno Geiger, Fr. Jörg Gabriel, and Fr. Neiljohn Deligero. Bro. Jun Cabonegro assisted. In his homily, the Prelate stressed his appreciation to the Filipinos for their strong and unique devotion to the Blessed Mother even while away from their native land. Right after the Holy Mass, the children offered flowers to the Blessed Mother, a scene which moved the emotion of the attending Germans for whom the ritual was something new.

The Cultural Program

Ogie Maristela & Marivic Sagum, the assigned masters of ceremony, organized the smooth flow of the program. Consul Heinz Peter Heidrich from the Philippine Consolate in Essen delivered his personal message. Several cultural dance groups like the FDV Wuppertal Dance Group and the Wow Dance Group Oberhausen presented their native and modern dance numbers. Mr. Lenard Cruz from USA did an interpretative solo performance. Miguel Buenaflor and the Oberhausen Kids danced the ‘Papaya’.  Even the members of The Couples for Christ, the Youth for Christ, and the Kids for Christ shared their special numbers during the program. Everybody enjoyed the presentation. Fr. Weber thanked and acknowledged everybody: the generous helpers, the performers, the EMCEEs, the vendors, the Western Union, etc. for their various contributions to the success of this year’s Flores de Mayo - Santacruzan.