‘For the sake of America’

HASKELL  Like any typical afternoon, traffic on Ringwood Avenue bustled along on July 11 to the purring of cars and roaring of motorcycles that passed by St. Francis of Assisi Church here. Signs on the front lawn of the church alerted motorists to what the noise of the road prevented them from hearing but God could hear loud and clear: a group of 30 people in front of the church praying the rosary for the sake of America.

At noon that day, these faith-filled roadside prayer warriors gathered for an hour-long Public Square Rosary Crusade at St. Francis Church in the Haskell section of Wanaque to pray in public for God to bless and save America through the recitation of the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Sitting in folding chairs, the faithful from St. Francis and elsewhere in the Diocese read prayers and sang hymns to the Lord through the Blessed Virgin Mary while wearing face masks and practicing social distancing to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

Every year for the past few years, faithful gather at St. Francis in the summer and again in the fall to pray for many intentions, such as the conversion of the U.S., promotion of traditional marriage and an end to abortion — along with countless others around the country at the same time through the “America Needs Fatima” campaign. However, this year, the group prayed for another set of intentions in these strange and dark times that we live in, including a cure for the coronavirus pandemic, a peaceful resolution to the civil unrest that has gripped the nation and an easing of economic uncertainty for workers whose jobs were or could be affected by the state-mandated restrictions. At least one other parish in the Diocese, Our Lady of Consolation (OLC) in Wayne, held outside the church on Hamburg Turnpike at the same time that day.

“America needs Fatima more than ever in these uncertain times with COVID-19 and all the unrest and protest in America. That is why our need to come together in prayer is so great. We must trust in God to resolve these problems, including our usual intentions,” said Sandy Weigand of St. Francis, who organized the Public Square Rosary Crusade. Near her, roadside banners on the lawn proclaimed such messages as “We are praying the rosary for America. Join us!” and “America Needs Fatima.”

The group at St. Francis followed along with a program for the rally — prepared by the “America Needs Fatima” campaign — which included singing “Immaculate Mary,” reciting The Angelus, praying the rosary, singing responses for the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and reciting the Divine Praises. Some motorists beeped their horns or waved from their windows in approval. The rally was held in conjunction with rosary events around the U.S. as part of “Ameri­ca Needs Fatima,” “a campaign to capture the heart and soul of America with the Message of Our Lady of Fatima,” according to its website, www.americaneedsfatima.org.

One of the faithful praying for America at the St. Francis rally was Martha Bisaccio who said, “It’s obvious that politicians and humanity in general have not solved our problems — not now or in the near future.”

“So we must depend on God. That is why we have the rosary. We pray for a cure to COVID-19 and for the sick, the dead and families affected by the virus. We pray for people to come back to the faith with humility and believe in the Gospel and repent,” Bisaccio said. “It’s also great for people to see the example of us praying in public for peace. More prayers couldn’t hurt,” she said.

St. Francis started holding rosary rallies at the church in 2017 for the 100th anniversary of the final of six apparitions of the Blessed Mother to three children in Fatima, Portugal, on Oct. 13, 1917. The parish also held rallies in observance of Mary’s first appearance to the children on May 13, of that same year. The Blessed Mother warned that if the world does not convert, there would be much suffering, famine and wars. To avert such disasters, she asked for prayer, penance and other measures, Weigand said.

Among those leading the prayers at St. Francis were Weigand and Father Greg Golba, pastor, who noted that the parish has a “nice tradition” of praying for the country, troops and first-responders during intentions at Mass and novenas.

“People want prayer and as a priest, I’m helping them to pray. We need to pray because of COVID-19 and for people who have lost their jobs and who are concerned about the future,” Father Golba said. “We need to do the best for the country and do our best to follow the Ten Commandments and the U.S. Constitution,” he said.

Not far from Haskell, similar banners supplied by “America Needs Fatima” also were displayed at the Public Square Rosary Rally, also at noon, at OLC. On the hill in front of the church about 25 faithful also sat socially distanced in folding chairs. Similar to the St. Francis rally, many participants brought umbrellas but showers that were forecast held off for both rain-or-shine rallies with only a few minutes of sprinkles. In addition to prayers and hymns in the program, the faithful at OLC recited a prayer by St. Maximilian Kolbe, said Pat Leszkowicz of OLC, one of the rally organizers.

“We prayed for America’s return to God and for Mary’s protection from the problems that are prevalent in our country. We prayed for human life, traditional marriage and a cure for the virus. We also prayed that the vaccine for coronavirus not be made from the fetuses of aborted babies as has been suggested and that researchers find alternate ways. Our country needs the Lord’s help,” said Leszkowicz, who along with others, have organized Fatima rosary rallies at OLC in recent years. A folding table at the July 11 rally contained various copies of prayers, faith-related news articles and sample letters that participants could send to legislators about life issues. “I hope that this rally encourages more people to pray the rosary,” she said.

One Catholic at the OLC rally was Tom Dempsey of Annunciation Parish in Wayne, who said that the rally was an important opportunity to pray as this tumultuous time in our country.

“Today people are expressing different visions of the future that can’t co-exist,” said Dempsey, who attended with wife, Mary. “The country can only turn around if the hearts of the people turn around. The only way that can happen is through prayer,” he said.