Devotion Nikon D-700

The way the Catholic religion is usually practiced borders on superstition and on idolatry, Of course, at least officially, the  Church disavows such practices but in practice it welcomes and even encourages them. All the feasts that are usually held in neighborhoods on US cities and in towns and cities all over Italy and most other European and Latin American countries, involve statue worshiping of one sort or another. 

These shots are of the  "simulacrum", or statue of  La Madonna del Soccorso. She is the patron saint of my beloved Castellammare del Golfo whose towns feast is celebrated from the 19th to the 21st of August. The paesani in Queens, however, celebrate her in early September. This involves a procession and a street fair. What we see here is the complete devotion in preparing the statue for the parade. The reverence is palpable. It's as these men were dealing with the actual Madonna.
BTW, the lens used was the Nikkor 16-24 F 2.8.