CENTRAL PARK — On the morning of March 28 at Central Park, decades of the rosary could be heard echoing through a megaphone as a group of nearly 40 women, aged 20 to 60, partook in the first-ever “Holy Girl Walk.”
The gathering, held the day before Palm Sunday, was the brainchild of 23-year-old Isabella Orlando, a nursing student at Fairfield University who spends most of her weekends in Manhattan. Many of her friends are parishioners of St. Joseph’s Church or St. Vincent Ferrer Church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Her growing connections within NYC’s Catholic community inspired her to bring women of all ages and backgrounds together for the “Holy Girl Walk.” A play on the popular TikTok term “hot girl walk,” the premise of the meetup is to join an activity that’s good for their soul and their body, Orlando said.
The first Holy Girl Walk on March 28 lasted two rosaries, more than an hour and a half, and upwards of three miles. Orlando said the result was exactly what she hoped for, and she hopes to plan more in the future.
“Manhattan has a lot of people, but it still can be lonely sometimes,” she said. “My intention is to just slow down and be present with one another. I thought this was the perfect way to do it.”
Orlando said she began praying the rosary on her walks during the COVID-19 pandemic, when countless people nationwide turned to walking as a safe, socially distanced way to get some exercise and fresh air.
“There was more to it than just the physical and mental benefits of feeling good in your own skin,” she told The Tablet, of adding the rosary to her walks. “To be able to pray the rosary too, you’re adding a spiritual benefit in that.”
Then, she started inviting friends — and now strangers — to do the same on social media. Dozens of women from across the New York City metropolitan area RSVP-ed for the first event, planning to convene at the Henry Bliss Plaque in Central Park.
“Why not get together with strangers and enjoy a beautiful, powerful walk as we’re in Holy Week?” attendee Honey Lopez, who learned about the walk via Instagram, told The Tablet. “This is a time where we connect, we listen, we give love, we receive love.
“A moment like this can change your life.”
The “Holy Girl Walk” made a loop through Central Park’s paths, passing iconic city sites like the Central Park Boathouse, Delacorte Theater, and the Bethesda Fountain. They took turns reciting each decade of the rosary and stopping foot traffic in their path.
Lucero Manzanares, associate director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Brooklyn, is friends with Orlando. She led one of the decades of the rosary, noting that the chance to grow her faith and her social circle is invaluable.
“Being able to have other people that relate to you is a great way to be able to start your Saturday,” Manzanares said.
