Family Rosary Picnic

STIRLING  Jerellyne Santos, a fourth-grader from St. Gerard Majella School in Paterson, felt an unusual mix of being “nervous and excited” Sunday afternoon, May 2. She helped her family recite the rosary as they often do but on that day, in a much larger place than a room in their home — on the lawn of the Shrine of St. Joseph here, leading in prayer more than 300 people, including Bishop Kevin Sweeney.

Standing at a microphone, Santos, 9, and her family took turns with other Catholic school families in the Diocese, leading the faithful in reciting a decade of the rosary each for the diocesan Family Rosary devotion on a sunny, picture perfect day. Bishop Sweeney hosted the first-ever event that afternoon in both English and Spanish from 4:30 to 6 p.m. to celebrate the Year of St. Joseph and Year of the Family, which Pope Francis both declared for this year.

“I was nervous and excited to say the rosary in front of so many people,” Jerellyne Santos told The Beacon after she and her family — Juan, her father; Elvia, her mother; and Isabella, her sister, 4, in kindergarten at St. Gerard’s — returned to their blanket on the lawn following their decade of the rosary. The Santos family, she said, says the rosary often at home. “I like praying the rosary. It’s talking to Mary and Jesus,” she said.

On a breezy, 85-degree day, people of all backgrounds and ages — including grandparents, parents, children, other family members and friends, enjoyed praying the rosary as many of them do each day with a larger faith family from the Diocese and beyond. Clusters of blankets and beach chairs dotted the lush green lawn that cascades from the rear of the shrine down to the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, where Bishop Sweeney began the rosary. At this picnic event, families brought food, drinks, and snacks for before or after the rosary. After­ward, participants were treated to ice cream from an ice-cream truck there that afternoon.

“Thank you for your presence here today. We thank the Lord for such a beautiful day. We come together as God’s family to pray the rosary,” said Bishop Sweeney, in his greeting in both English and Spanish.

Also at the start of the Family Rosary, Trinitarian Father Raul Ventura spoke on behalf of Trinitarian Father Dennis Berry, shrine director, and the shrine community in welcoming participants. He told everyone, “Enjoy the day and may the Lord continue to bless us.”

During a short catechesis at the start of the Family Rosary, Bishop Sweeney spoke about how, as a child, he had to stop playing outside after dinner every night to pray the rosary with the family in their home in Queens.

“My mother taught us to pray the rosary. We prayed almost every day. I got to know Mary through the rosary. Saying my prayers helped me get closer to God. That’s why we are here today,” Bishop Sweeney said.

Before speaking about the rosary, the Bishop answered some questions submitted by families and young people to the diocesan Office of Family Life, which sponsored the event with the shrine and Knights and Dames of Malta. One question was about the importance of saints.

“It’s very important to know the saints,” said Bishop Sweeney, who also got to know St. Patrick as a child because both of his parents were born in Ireland. He suggested learning more about St. Joseph and Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, a Sister of Charity of St. Elizabeth, who was beatified in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark in 2014. “Pray through St. Joseph for all dads and through Mary for all moms, especially with Mother’s Day coming up on May 9,” the Bishop said.

Another person asked, “What can kids do to become saints?”

“Do your homework and clean your room. Pray your prayers. Listen to your parents. Be good to your siblings,” Bishop Sweeney said. “You should all know that you are a gift from God. It will take you a little while to get there [becoming saints] but with God, all things are possible,” he said.

During the opening catechesis, Bishop Sweeney answered other questions, such as: “What does holiness mean for kids?” — “To smile even on bad days”; “What is your favorite team?” — “The Yankees”; and “Can sports help you discover God?” — “Yes, through understanding that ‘your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,’ ” he said.

Bishop Sweeney started the Family Rosary, which focuses on St. Joseph, in English and Spanish, leading the first part of each prayer, while participants recited the second part. Then, families that were selected by a few of their Catholic schools took over the recitation. The other families were: Keown of Assumption School in Morristown, Martinez of the Academy of St. James in Totowa, Clifford of the Catholic Academy of Sussex County, and Nelson, home-schooled.

Bishop Sweeney asked the faithful to pray for “their own special intentions, for an increase in vocations, for respect for life from conception to natural death, and a respect for traditional marriage.”

Joseph Buganski accompanied himself on acoustic guitar, while leading the congregation in songs of praise. At the end of the rosary, the Bishop told the faithful, “Let’s keep praying the rosary as a family.”

That’s true for the Santos family, which prays often at night as a way to help “strengthen the faith of the family, which is the center of the family — talking to God and getting next to God,” said the matriarch of the family, Elvia.

After the Family Rosary, the Keown family was all smiles, taking a photo with Bishop Sweeney, holding the flag of County Mayo in Ireland, from where their families originated. The Keowns are Mike and Jessica, a kindergarten teacher at Assumption School, and their children, who are also students there: Brendan and Patrick, both 11; Michael, 7; and Jimmy, 5. Jessica said the students pray the rosary in school while her family has been praying it more often than usual during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Saying the rosary as a family is “special,” said Jessica Keown, because “God is gifting us these children with the responsibility to bring them close to him. The rosary helps me fulfill that duty.”

Patrick told The Beacon that he also felt nervous saying the rosary publicly “with the people looking at us.” He said he enjoys praying the rosary with his family because “it gives us a minute to be with God and Mary.”