{"id":676537,"date":"2026-05-18T01:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/676537\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:21:15","slug":"portuguese-procession-goes-ahead-in-plateau-despite-secularism-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/676537\/","title":{"rendered":"Portuguese procession goes ahead in Plateau despite secularism controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 4,000 people took part in a Portuguese Catholic procession marking the feast of Santo Cristo in Plateau-Mont-Royal on Sunday \u2014 despite the fact that the Plateau borough denied a permit for the event<\/a>, citing a new and expanded provincial secularism law prohibiting collective religious activities on public property.<\/p>\n

Borough mayor Cathy Wong said in a weekend social media post<\/a> that the procession would go ahead, with support from the Montreal police department to ensure the safety of participants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe procession is not a problem to deal with. It\u2019s a tradition to be accompanied with sensitivity and respect,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\"VolunteersVolunteers prepare a red carpet at\u00a0the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\"AThousands of people turned out to watch or take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\"AMontreal police secure the end of the Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

The Festa do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres is a centuries-old Portuguese religious festival held the fifth Sunday after Easter; the procession was marking its 60th anniversary in Montreal. The event brings together families, neighbours and others \u201cin a spirit of respect and peace,\u201d Wong wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no praying on the march. Mainly it is a celebration of gratitude,\u201d event organizer Emanuel Linhares said Sunday prior to the procession. \u201cOn such a march, silence is a sign of respect and gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few dozen musicians were also slated to be part of the procession, Linhares said.<\/p>\n

\"APeople turn out to watch or take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\"TwoPeople take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

The procession\u2019s route began at the Santa Cruz Mission, a Catholic church on Rachel St. that has served Montreal\u2019s Portuguese community since 1964. It was then expected to head north on Clark St. to Villeneuve St., then along Villeneuve to St-Urbain St. and south along St-Urbain back to the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very, very happy that we have the weather we have,\u201d Linhares said, predicting that the sunshine and the media coverage surrounding the permit denial could well bump up attendance. The event usually draws between 1,500 and 2,000 people. <\/p>\n

\"AThousands of people turned out to watch or take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerations of Portuguese families have contributed to building the Plateau,\u201d Wong said in her post. \u201cThey shaped our streets, our shops, our culture, our collective memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut today, a law conceived by the government of Quebec creates bureaucratic obstacles for the district and ambiguities for celebrations that have always gone harmoniously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wong said the new law, known as Bill 9, which was passed by the National Assembly on April 2<\/a>, \u201ccreates confusion, weakens traditions and gives the worrying impression that our cultural communities will no longer be able to coexist without more legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\"APeople take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

The Plateau district\u2019s permit teams \u201care required to enforce the laws in force.\u201d But since the adoption of Bill 9, \u201cour teams have been in a transition period, clarifying the powers of municipalities and districts in implementing the new law,\u201d Wong explained.<\/p>\n

The law \u201cputs the borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal, our organizations and our communities in an unnecessarily complex situation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople take part in the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from\u00a0the Santa Cruz Mission\u00a0through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople watch the annual Portuguese Santo Cristo procession from the Santa Cruz Mission through the streets of Montreal\u2019s Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

Linhares said he learned only on May 8, nine days before the procession, that a permit would be denied. \u201cThe Plateau has been very complicated on everything,\u201d he said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

He said he learned that other boroughs have authorized this type of march. In LaSalle, for instance, \u201ctoday is a special day for the Sikh community<\/a>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Streets in LaSalle were closed for several hours on Sunday for the Khalsa Day Sikh parade, a religious and cultural event also called Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolicies are very different\u201d from one borough to another, Linhares said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am saying that we need to centralize all these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 4,000 people took part in a Portuguese Catholic procession marking the feast of Santo Cristo in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-676537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}