A streetside Mass provided one of the most moving moments of St. Anthony’s Feast in Boston for me this past weekend. The outdoor Mass in honor of St. Anthony is held the Saturday evening of St. Anthony’s Feast, where Via Di Santa Lucia and Via Di Sant’Antonio meet.

This year’s Mass was presided over by Fr. Michael Della Penna, the pastor of the North End’s St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish, which was the first Catholic church in New England to be founded by Italian immigrants. My mother, Sean, and I were within the first two rows, so our vantage point was excellent.