Effort to allow women to serve as committee members of New Bedford's Madeiran feast fails

NEW BEDFORD – There was an unsuccessful attempt to change the bylaws of the Clube Madeirense S.S. Sacramento Inc. on Oct. 29, and as a result women will continue to not be allowed to serve as festeiras (committee members) of the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, which the club sponsors.

For the change to be approved, 75 percent of the club’s general assembly would have to agree to the motion.

Steven Duarte, the chief proponent of the change who also serves as the club’s public relations chairman, told O Jornal he will not give up on trying to change the centuries-old tradition to exclude women.

“I’m disappointed,” said Duarte, who served as feast president in 2017. “Unfortunately, it did not pass. But this doesn’t mean we can’t bring it up again.”

Duarte explained the club uses Robert’s Rules of Order to govern procedures at meetings.

“Any member can bring to the floor a change to the bylaws,” he said. “I thought it was important to change the bylaw not to say ‘men,’ but to say ‘all.’ The change would have included anyone.”

Duarte said women have been an instrumental part of the feast and rightfully deserve to walk alongside the men.

“We could not have done it without the women. The women are always there,” he said. “This is me personally talking, not as the public relations director. We depend on the women to be by our side. It’s only natural that they should be by our side walking in the parade as festeiras.”

Why are women not allowed?

Founded in 1915 by four Madeiran immigrant men, the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament is celebrated annually in New Bedford as a re-enactment of the Festa do Santíssimo Sacramento observed in Estreito da Calheta, Madeira.

Wanting to commemorate their safe passage to America, the four Madeiran men decided to recreate the religious feast in their home island, where a committee of men were responsible for preparing the village for the festa.

As a result, there are Clube Madeirense S. S. Santíssimo Inc. members who firmly feel the New Bedford feast should stay true to its Madeiran origins and the centuries-old tradition should be upheld.

Since one must first serve on a feast committee to be eligible for full membership in the Clube Madeirense S. S. Sacramento Inc., that also means women cannot be club members.

Conversation to include women has been going on for a while

Duarte said this motion to change the bylaws was introduced a few years ago, but then the Covid pandemic hit and the process came to a halt.

“It’s always been a conversation,” he said. “But I thought it was time and we needed to discuss the change. The good thing is that we got it to the Board, to the bylaw committee and to the floor of the general assembly.”

He compared the process to a political election.

“The candidate doesn’t always win. It’s ok,” he said. “But you continue to talk to the folks about it and continue the process. I understand, you know, it is tradition and the discussions on both sides of it. But I just hope that as we go forward, women can be festeiras. I think it’s time.”

Motion was inspired by Duarte’s late daughter

Duarte said his family has been involved with the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament since its inception.

Two of the founding fathers – Manuel Duarte and Manuel Agrela – were his great uncles.

“My father was a traditionalist,” he said. “He loved the Madeiran culture, and we talked a lot about it and about allowing festeiras back and forth. Towards the end of his life, we were talking and I said, ‘Geez, I wish I had the chance to have walked [the parade] with Missy as a feast festeira just like I did with my son.’ With a tear in his eyes, he said he wished he had the same chance.”

Duarte’s daughter, Melissa Duarte, passed away from bacterial meningitis when she was a senior in high school.

“I can’t do it for my daughter, but I can do it for others’ daughters or others’ granddaughters. That’s what we will do; we’ll continue. I abide by the club’s decision as a public relations chairman, but I hope one day soon we will be able to have festeiras walking alongside their fathers, grandfathers, uncles and brothers.”

Had this motion passed, it would have been the club’s second major change in recent years.

Until the 1990s, only Madeiran born adult males or their male descendants were allowed on feast and club committees. Today, committee members must be male descendants of Madeira from either parent's side of the family. That change has opened the door for many more men to be able to play a role in the feast and the club.Duarte is hopeful he can bring back the motion for a vote next year.“Towards the end of the year,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll be hearing from other club members, and I’m sure that sometime next year we’ll bring it back for another vote.”

‘Support The Daughters of Madeira’ Facebook group created

Soon after the vote took place, Tiffany Iliof created the “Support The Daughters of Madeira” Facebook group to garner support to allow women to serve as festeiras and become club members.

As of Nov. 8, 131 people – the vast majority women – had joined the public group.

“Keep spreading the word that our group exists,” Iliot urged. “Please add more women that are waiting for their turn to serve and keep these traditions alive, and also add any men that you think will come alongside us… I’m hoping that they will start to see us and in turn hear us… Maybe if they see us and can see that we just want to keep tradition alive it will help move the needle.”

Former New Bedford City Counselor Jane Gonsalves, who traces her roots to Madeira and has been very vocal about this subject, was among the first members to join the group.

“I have been speaking up about this issue since 1998 when the club voted to allow the sons of Madeiran mothers to join,” she wrote. “Being silent has accomplished nothing. I am glad other women are finally speaking up. This is our heritage too and we owe it to our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc., to stand up for each other and claim our right to have a say about our heritage.”

Lurdes C. da Silva may be reached at ldasilva@ojornal.com. To read more stories about the Portuguese-speaking community, in English and Portuguese, please visit ojornal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Feast of the Blessed Sacrament fails to approve motion to include women