About a dozen Romeiros are crisscrossing Southeastern Massachusetts on foot this week - rain or shine - bringing their Portuguese religious chants and prayers to 18 cities and towns and 48 churches.

During their trek, they will ask for God’s protection for the community and pray for personal intentions collected along the way.

“We don’t pray for ourselves; we pray for others,” Bruno Pimentel, 44, the leader of the group, told O Jornal. “Many have asked us to pray for peace because of the war going on, and many have asked us to pray for those who are sick, especially with cancer.”

See more at heraldnews.com.