Crowds watch procession in Honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on main road past St Peter's Italian Church in Clerkenwell
The annual Procession in Honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, first made its way around Clerkenwell, London from St Peter's Italian Church in 1883, twenty years after the church was consecrated. It was the first Roman Catholic event allowed on English streets for around 350 years after Henry VIII broke from Rome and created the Church of England in 1534, and the local police were given special permission by Queen Victoria for it to take place. Then the church was surrounded by the small crowded streets of Saffron Hill or 'Little Italy' in which much of the country's Italian population lived. Few now live in the neighbourhood, but many return from all over London and towns and cities across England for the annual procession. It became increasingly colourful in postwar years with many on foot wearing biblical costumes and colourful floats carrying tableaux of biblical scenes, as well as various associations carrying banners, images and statues of the saints around the area. There is also a group of first communicants as well as the priests and other clergy. A lively Italian festival - the Sagra - with food, drink, dancing and more - fills a street below the church, and thousands turn up to watch the procession and enjoy the atmosphere.
Size: 5040px × 3354px
Location: Clerkenwell, London, England, UK
Photo credit: © Peter Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: beads, carmel, catholic, church, clerkenwell, crowds, festival, italian, lady, london, mount, peter, procession, roman, rosary, st, woman
