Livonia — Not many are honored with a procession for their birthday. But then again, nobody really compares to Mary, the Mother of God.

On Sept. 6, two days before the feast of the Blessed Mother’s birth, members and guests at St. Priscilla Parish in Livonia celebrated her birthday with an outdoor procession before the 11 a.m. Mass. Many Catholic communities around the world hold processions and festivals celebrating the birth of Mary — the Catholic Church formally celebrates three birthdays: Mary’s, Jesus’ and St. John the Baptist’s. However, American communities often don’t roll out the red carpet for such occasions, something Indian-born St. Priscilla pastor Fr. Theodore D’Cunha wanted to change. “It is a custom in India to have a giant feast to celebrate Mary’s birthday, so I wanted to start a similar tradition on a small scale,” Fr. D’Cunha said. “Even in the United States, a lot of Indian Catholics have celebrations in Washington, D.C.” The celebration featured 200 parish members carrying banners and flags honoring Mary, with four members of the parish carrying a statue of Mary on a platform as the column paraded around the church parking lot. Parishioner Andy Perez played the trumpet and parishioner Donna Olkowski played the flute during the procession.

Parishioners brought fresh flowers before Mary’s statue as people began to follow into the pews. “Walking processions aren’t something people are used to in this country, but everyone was looking forward to it,” Fr. D’Cunha said. “This is a festival everyone seems to like, and I think people are really taking to the procession because it’s different and not something they have experienced before.” After Mass, parishioners met in the parish center for a banquet, where cake was shared in honor of the Blessed Mother’s birthday. “The procession was new, but we were inspired by the reverence to Mary,” said St. Priscilla parishioner Mary Jo Lafer. “Mary is the patron saint of the United States, so it’s important for us to celebrate her birthday.”

Fr. D’Cunha first introduced the practice to the Archdiocese of Detroit eight years ago, during his time at St. John Neumann Parish in Canton. Since then, St. John Neumann parishioners and members of other parishes have converged on St. Priscilla’s to celebrate Mary’s birthday. “Everyone really appreciated the dedication that is shown around the world to Mary,” Lafer said. “We’ve lost some of that devotion to Mary, some of that reverence. We want events like this to reconnect back to our roots as Catholics and show greater devotion to the Blessed Mother.” During his homily, Fr. D’Cunha said Mary is important not only as the Mother of Christ and for being without sin, but because she is mother to all, setting an example of how to live a life devoted to God. “There are so many names we give Mary, because she is the greatest human possible,” Fr. D’Cunha said. “Let her be the example to us. Let us take her into our home and let her guide us in our lives.”