On October 9, 2017, the country celebrated Columbus Day, which is more and more being celebrated as the Day of Cultures. On that occasion, the Oblates at Saint Patrick parish in Lowell, together with the parish community, celebrated the richness of their backgrounds.
The following 35 different nationalities took part in the Festival:
- Africa: (8): Chad, Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda.
- Asia: (4): Cambodia, China, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam.
- Caribbean: (4): Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico.
- Central America: (6): Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, El Salvador.
- Europe: (4): Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain.
- North America: (3): Canada, Mexico, USA.
- South America: (6): Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.
While the Festival is a special celebration, it is worth remembering that, every Sunday the Oblates at Saint Patrick celebrate Mass in five different languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Burmese, Cambodian.
The parishioners at Saint Patrick speak at least 12 different languages: Burmese, English, French, Haitian (Creole), Irish, Khmer (Cambodian), Polish, Portuguese, Quechua (Ecuadorian), Spanish, Swahili (African), Vietnamese.
