CAMBRIDGE -- On June 15, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, men and women scuttled through the cramped kitchen of the St. Anthony Parish Hall in Cambridge.

The men chopped up massive piles of steaming boiled meats, and the women carried heaping bowls of Holy Ghost soup, a traditional recipe of broth, vegetables, and Portuguese bread handed down from their Azorean ancestors. The volunteers worked under the watchful eye of an image of the Sacred Heart that looked down from above the kitchen doors.

The parish hall was packed with hundreds of people of all ages sitting at long tables and having lively conversations in Portuguese as they eagerly awaited the most beloved part of the annual feast of the Holy Ghost.

"It's a community that raised me from literal diapers, so I try to give back as much as I can," said 21-year-old Anthony Raleza.

He was raised in St. Anthony Parish and had his first taste of Holy Ghost soup before he knew how to talk.

"Every time I have it now, I feel immense nostalgia and gratitude and connection to this really special culture and community," he said.

He said the feast has been a "truly monumental" part of his life.

"It's brought me back in touch with my Portuguese culture, it's built a very strong community within the church and within the city, and it also serves as a beacon point for both Catholics and Portuguese citizens," he said.

The feast is the highlight of the parish's year, bringing in people from all over Massachusetts.

"We have other feasts," Raleza said, "but this is where it all comes together."

The feast began with a procession around the church, led by a young woman in a white dress and red velvet cape trimmed with white fur and embroidered with a golden crown and white lilies. The sound of the cape's long trim dragging on the ground, and the Filarmonica Santo Antonio marching band droning in the distance, was all that could be heard during the solemn procession. She and other girls carried large, ornate silver crowns, some adorned with flowers and ribbons, that glittered in the sun.

The crowns symbolize the reign of the Holy Spirit and are the centerpiece of the feast. The children carrying them are members of the Imperio das Criancas, or Kingship of Children, a society in the parish that raises money for institutions that care for children in the U.S. and the Azores. One girl carried a stuffed dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, on a red pillow.

The marchers filed into the church for Mass celebrated by Father Antonio de Souza, parochial vicar of St. Anthony's. The various crowns were placed before the altar. Most are from the Azores. One belongs to the church, while others belong to families who have taken care of them for generations.

"When we look at these crowns, we think of the power of the Holy Spirit, of his love for us, and then when we have these crowns placed over our heads, it is as if we are being blessed by the Holy Spirit," Father de Souza said in his homily. "So I hope at the end of Mass, many of the children here will come to receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit."

After Mass was the traditional Crowning of the Holy Spirit, which began with the legend of St. Isabella, Portugal's 14th-century queen. St. Isabella prayed to the Holy Ghost during a time of famine and promised that, if her people were saved, she would give her crown to the church. When ships full of supplies came to Portuguese shores, St. Isabella placed her crown on the head of a peasant girl.

At St. Anthony's, children and adults came to the altar to be crowned. Their families and friends held the crowns over their heads as Father de Souza sprinkled holy water onto them. The crowned adults, clutching silver scepters topped with doves, bowed their heads and crossed themselves through the fog of incense.

"The person has the crown over her head, bows, and receives a blessing from the Holy Spirit," Father de Souza told The Pilot. "That's the idea. So it's a very, very important moment, very prayerful moment, to the families."

Father de Souza grew up in Brazil and did not know about the Azorean traditions, including the "delicious" Holy Ghost soup, until he came to St. Anthony's.

"I loved everything," he said. "I love the whole meaning of it, being together. The soup also brings people together. The idea of unity and reverence to God, but also the idea of community."

Raleza has participated in the crownings his whole life. He has been crowned regularly since childhood, and has crowned others.

"You really feel the Holy Spirit watch over you, and take a moment and be very grateful for everything you have and everything that you can give for others," he said. "And that leads onto the giving aspect, where you will give those people an opportunity to feel that."

After the crowning, the parishioners held another procession before feasting in the parish hall. The crowns were kept in a decorated alcove of the hall made to look like a church, with lace curtains in the windows. The "chapel" was filled with flowers and a statue of St. Isabella. The youngest members of the Imperio das Criancas, wearing little red aprons, gave napkins to the diners. Volunteers work all night to make sure the soups are ready before the feast.

"This past week, in general, has been very labor-intensive," Raleza said, "setting up all the tables, cutting the bread, cutting the meat, making sure everything's cooked."

After the meal was served, volunteer Jose Sousa cooled off with a bottle of Super Bock, which he called "the king of Portuguese beers." He said the feast is a way for older and disabled parishioners who cannot return to the Azores to experience the culture of their mother country.

"It's tradition," he said. "Tradition, especially for the immigrant population, is everything. So what's done yearly there, you want to bring here."

On June 14, his work began at 5 a.m. and ended at 11:30 p.m. He and other volunteers prepared the meat, bread, and wine that is given as an offering to parishioners in exchange for a $40 donation. The food served on the day of the feast is free, as Holy Ghost soup was traditionally given out to the poor.

"Everything you do goes toward a higher power, if you will," Sousa said. "And that's how the group sees it. That's how everybody sees it. You're working for the community, but you're also working for God, the Holy Spirit."

A native of Lowell, he joined St. Anthony Parish in 1997 and has volunteered for the feast since 2001. His favorite part of the meal isn't the food but gathering with his friends and fellow parishioners.

"It's an extended family, and you serve the community," he said. "It's a great community. The people from the Azores and the mainland Portuguese are very devoted to the Holy Spirit."