Typically, it’s the faithful who carry the various likenesses of Mary in similar festivals across the world. A century ago, the Vatican formally granted special permission for animals to pull the floats with life-sized statues of the Virgin Mary, said the Rev. Another uncommon aspect of the procession is the iconic century-old sacred image standing on the bow of a boat-shaped float – the Virgin Mary breastfeeding infant Jesus. At least 50 were women dressed in pink and blue like the Virgin statue, carrying Jesus dolls or real babies. One of this year’s floats represented Our Lady of Peace, her statue framed by flags of conflict-ridden countries like Ukraine and Libya.

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Persons: ”, Antonio Faustino, Virgin Mary, “, Pope Francis, Mary, Fernando Albano Cardoso, Faustino, Jesus, Albano, Julieta Pereira, ” Pereira, Filipe Mendonça, he’s, Alfredo Teixeira, Peace, –, gingerly, Francisco Lopes, Jennifer Esteves Organizations: Catholic, Vatican, Catholic Church, Catholic University of Portugal, Lamego’s, Lilly Endowment Inc, AP Locations: LAMEGO, Portugal, Portugal’s, Nossa Senhora, ”, Lisbon, Douro, Switzerland, Ukraine, Libya, Portuguese, Germany