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At Holy Rosary Church on Staten Island, parishioners have been able to pray for the intercession of Blessed John XXIII for many years.
Those prayers take on added meaning since his canonization on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27. That day, the church’s prayer garden was rededicated after a Mass of thanksgiving for Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.
“There is a great devotion to both new saints here at Holy Rosary,” said Father Michael Martine, pastor of Holy Rosary, who celebrated the Mass and presided at the rededication of the St. John XXIII Prayer Garden.
“We have both Italian and Polish communities here in the parish,” he added. “We celebrate Masses in both Italian and Polish every Sunday. Both communities rejoiced with the canonization of these two new saints.”
Some 300 people attended the Mass, and commemorative prayer cards of the new saints were given out.
The prayer garden “is used daily by parishioners and people of the neighborhood as a place of quiet reflection and meditation.”
There are other religious statues in the garden, including the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Blessed Mother, St. Jude, St. Therese, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Julie Billiart, the foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the religious congregation serving the parish.
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Robert Brucato, who served as pastor of Holy Rosary, originally dedicated the prayer garden in 2002. The garden was made possible thanks to the generosity of the Sammarco family, longtime parishioners of Holy Rosary. Benches have been memorialized by parish organizations and parishioners.
