by Antonina Zielinska

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio led children from Catholic elementary schools from throughout the diocese in prayer at St. James Cathedral Basilica, Downtown Brooklyn, during the annual Rosary Rally, co-sponsored by the Office of Faith Formation and the Catholic Schools Office.
The bishop explained the importance of the Rosary to representatives of the seven schools present. He said the prayer keeps them closer to the Queen of Heaven.
“Mary is our heavenly mother and she kno

ws how to take care of her children,” he said.
Among the students who came to show their appreciation and dedication to Mary was Francesco Pizza, fourth-grade student at Queen of the Rosary Academy, Williamsburg, the former St. Nicholas School.

“We’re going to pray the decades of the Rosary to show our love for God and Mary,” he said as he waited for the rest of the students to fill up the cathedral.

Pizza said he was excited to recite the familiar prayer with the bishop.  As the name of his school would imply, its students are well exposed to the Rosary.  They recite a decade of the prayer every school day.
Bishop DiMarzio said he was impressed with the students’ participation during the rally.

“They knew the prayers,” he said. “They responded so well. It’s a good encouragement, as we struggle to keep up our Catholic schools, that they learn about the faith and are practicing it.”
Helene Cirrincione and Gail Gibbons, teachers at St. Bernard’s School, Mill Basin, came with students from the school’s Rosary Society.

Cirrincione said that although the prayers are a bit complicated, the students understand them because they spend a lot of time with the Rosary.  The diocesan rally, she said, will help them come to a deeper understanding of the prayers.

The rally focused on the Luminous Mysteries, which gave the students an opportunity to come to a better understanding of the newest mysteries. Sixth-grade student Floreen Moreay, from St. Bernard’s School, served as one of the lectors during the rally. She said the whole experience was educational.

“We learned about how Mary is the mother of Jesus; and how she carried Him in her womb; and about the wedding in Cana,” she said.

Gibbons said the experience of reciting the Rosary with students from other schools and the bishop can help her students understand the universality of the prayer.

Isabella Wagner, a sixth-grade lector from St. Bernard’s School, said she enjoyed this aspect of the rally.

“I like it because it connects us with all the schools in the diocese,” she said.

Ted Musco, diocesan director of faith formation, said the rally is organized to help students understand the Rosary. Part of that, he said, is to help students understand the universality of the prayer and encourage them to bring it home to share with their families.

In order to promote the Rosary in the home, Musco said he hopes to facilitate a second Rosary rally during the school year for children who attend CCD programs in their parishes.

Before the bishop bestowed the final blessing upon the students, he gave them an important piece of advice.
“Never stop praying to God,” he said.  “No matter what, make sure you talk to God.”