On a night when they could have been watching the NFL or playoff baseball, dozens of adults and students participated in Our Lady of Lourdes High School’s second annual rosary procession, led by Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Colacicco. The event was organized by the Church of the Holy Trinity in Poughkeepsie.
Participants recited the rosary as they processed around the high school’s track. At the front of the procession was a wooden reproduction of the Our Lady of Lourdes statue. Those walking and those who chose to remain seated in the stands held candles, which they raised at the end of each decade for the singing of the chorus of “Ave Maria.”
After one revolution around the track, participants gathered in the middle of the athletic field, where the statue of the Blessed Virgin was placed. Many placed flowers before the statue as the prayers continued.
Once the rosary was completed, Bishop Colacicco led the participants in final prayers, and blessed and thanked all who had attended.
“The importance of praying the Rosary is fulfilling what Our Lady asked us. At all of the major apparitions, she asked us to pray the Rosary daily for peace, so we do that faithfully as her sons and daughters. To have a procession like this, it’s a wonderful thing, the devotion of our people, to join others in that devotion strengthens our faith. This was a wonderful turnout tonight, and I am very, very grateful,” Bishop Colacicco, who was born in Poughkeepsie, told The Good Newsroom after the procession.
Bishop Colacicco said that October, as the month of the Holy Rosary, is a time to focus on the Rosary and on prayer for peace. “Pray for peace. Peace in our world that needs it so desperately, in our churches, in our families, and in our lives,” he said.
“This is inspired by the nightly Rosary procession in Lourdes, France. That one is multilingual. It brings together people from all over the world, processing in the beautiful sanctuary there by candlelight, praying the Rosary and carrying Our Lady in procession,” said Father Michael Connolly, pastor of Church of the Holy Trinity, who said that the parish and the high school have begun organizing pilgrimages to Lourdes. “Not everyone is going to be able to come with us to France, but we can bring Lourdes, France to Lourdes High School,” he said.