Lavezza, 38, said he hopes his two sons, Anthony, 7, and Leo, 9, will work on the festival when they are grown up.
The event benefits St. Leo's Church and attracted an estimated 10,000 people over the weekend, Lavezza said.
Will Matricciani's grandfather on his mother's side and a great-uncle on his father's side helped found the St. Gabriel Society.
Matricciani returned recently from Abruzzi, where there is a shrine to St. Gabriel at Gran Sasso.
A few years ago, Matricciani carried the St. Gabriel banner in the procession with a son and grandson.
"The torch has been passed on from generation to generation," he said.
Pompa said the St. Gabriel banner he carried yesterday in the procession was hand-made in 1926. St. Gabriel Society members are looking for a replacement.
"It is getting old and fragile. We have tried to have it mended a couple of times," he said.
If the group is successful, the original banner will be framed and displayed in the basement of St. Leo's, Pompa said.
Pompa said he has many warm memories of the festival when it was held in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
"It lasted two weeks. They blocked off the streets. There were amusement rides. There were bingo tables in the streets. You always had something to do every night for two weeks in August. People here really supported it. It was a much bigger neighborhood, with more families," he said.
Pompa's sons, Vincent, 19, and Dominic Jr., 16, worked at the festival this year.
"This is one of the cultural foundations of this neighborhood. To continue this festival is my hope and dream," Pompa said.
james.drew@baltsun.com
