‘Young Roses’

TOTOWA  Decades ago, the Rosary Altar Society was a prominent group at every Catholic parish. They consisted of women parishioners would meet regularly to pray the rosary and take care of altar linens and other areas of the church building. They would prepare the church for the liturgical seasons and decorate for holy days. Members of the Rosary Altar Society were an active part of parish life.

As women became more engaged in careers, membership to these societies began to slow down and more and more, members today are usually older and often, mostly senior citizens.

Realizing the importance of continuing the tradition of Rosary Altar Societies in parish life, St. James of the Marches Parish here formed the “Young Roses,” entrusting female students in the seventh, eighth and ninth grades with a mission: “To honor the Blessed Mother through prayer, good works and recitation of the Rosary as well as provide a spiritual and social community for the members.”

Father Patrick Ryan, pastor, came up with the idea to create the “Young Roses” with the members of the Rosary Altar Society, who mentor these young girls along with Frank Mullen, chairman of the parish’s liturgy committee.

“The Church is evolving and the needs of the Church are evolving,” said Father Ryan. “This is one of the ways we are responding to the call to have an older generation teach the younger generation. The young people feel like they’ve done something important and it’s getting a part of an entire generation to serve the Church.”

Just before the 2016-2017 school year ended, two members of St. James Rosary Altar Society — Janet Cozzolino and Virginia Andreano — gave a presentation to students at the parish school — the Academy of St. James — about the history of the Rosary Altar Society and some of their responsibilities.

“We shared some of our focal points of which No. 1 is always prayer to God and praying the rosary,” Andreano said. “We pray the rosary together as a group on the first Sunday of each month before the noon Mass. We then spoke about the altar care and stressed the privilege it is to be before the Blessed Sacrament and keep its surrounding space beautiful each week.”

Altar care consists of what some may consider simple housekeeping or cleaning but for members of the Rosary Altar Society, it’s more than that — it’s taking care of God’s house and making the space look its very best for all those who will worship.

Some of the tasks include mopping the sanctuary, refilling the baptismal fonts with Holy Water, freshening up flowers adorning the altar and changing the altar linens.

Amber Thane, who will be heading to the ninth grade this year, said, “I enjoy volunteering. It’s a privilege. It definitely means something that they trust us to clean the altar area.”

Anna Weil, who will be starting eighth grade at the Academy of St. James in Totowa said, “It makes me feel happy taking care of my church.”

The Young Roses is also a way of evangelizing. For instance, Lisa Gambatese joined at the invitation of her friend and she has made more friends within the eight member group.

Another Young Roses member, Yennifer Panana, told The Beacon that belonging to the group gives her purpose. “It’s important we help others in the world and not just be concerned with the small stuff in our lives,” she said. “This is one way for me to give back.”

At a recent meeting, Rosarians said they feel hopefully about the Rosary Society and its new protégés. In the fall, the St. James Rosary Altar Society is planning a special ceremony to invest the girls at Mass.

Maria Pierri, who taught some of the girls about their new duties, said, “These girls are enthusiastic.” Andreano added, “These young ladies are really the future of the Church with generous hearts. If this is a sign of the Church’s future, we have a beautiful and hopeful future ahead of us.”

The officers of the St. James Rosary Altar Society are: Kathryn D’Antonio, president; Eleanor Latka, vice president; Anita Sesta, secretary and Diana Farina, treasurer.

[Information: (973) 790-0288.]