In Paraguay, the Roman Catholic faithful engage in the curious practice of donning bird-like costumes and parading through the streets to honor the memory of the 16th century saint St. Francis Solano and to entreat him for miraculous favors. Any resemblance to pre-Columbian rites involving the worship of Deities personified as birds is no doubt strictly coincidental. We’re digging that this is accepted practice among devout Catholics. Then again, this faith is notorious for absorbing and preserving practices of the multiple faiths it’s encountered over the millenia, under thin disguises.
Here’s a story on the phenonema you can read — unless you’ve got an ad blocker.
Farmer Genaro Servin sits on a window ledge in his feathered costume during the feast of St. Francis Solano in Emboscada, Paraguay, Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Hundreds of Catholic parishioners don bird-like costumes and parade down the streets to honor the 16th century saint said to possess miraculous powers. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Thanks to Soror Amy for the tip
