This past Labor Day weekend, the 125th Annual Feast of Maria SS. Lauretana returned to Niles for a milestone celebration. Over three days, record-breaking crowds filled the festival grounds. Visitors from throughout the country, travelers from Italy and countless Chicagoland families came together to honor a devotion that has endured for more than a century. What began at St. Philip Benizi Parish in Chicago’s Little Sicily has grown into one of the Midwest’s most cherished Italian festivals. When Sicilian immigrants from Altavilla Milicia first celebrated their devotion to Maria SS. Lauretana, they sought not only to honor their Blessed Mother …