SUNSET PARK — Norma Andrade said she had a dream three years ago about the Blessed Mother that led her to launch a new mission in her life as a Catholic.
“I wanted to teach children to honor the Virgin Mary by praying the rosary,” said Andrade, who is a parishioner of St. Michael Church in Sunset Park. With that dream still fresh in her mind, Andrade approached Father Fulgencio Gutierrez, her pastor, with the idea of organizing a regular gathering of young people who would pray the rosary so that they could, in turn, teach other kids.
Father Gutierrez gave his approval, and the St. Michael’s Youth Rosary was born. Three years later, it’s thriving. The group meets most Friday nights during the school year at the Pope Francis Parish Center at 345 43rd Street, around the corner from St. Michael Church, to pray and sing hymns.
She said when she launched the program, only three or four children would show up for the sessions.
“We started real small, and we got bigger,” said Andrade, who is the owner of a daycare center in Brooklyn.
Recently, on Feb. 28, a crowd of 25 children — some accompanied by their parents — gathered in the fourth-floor classroom, rosary beads in hand, to pray.
The children, who range in age from 5 to 16, have taken the task to heart, according to Andrade, who said they pray for the Blessed Mother’s help with various issues from world peace to problems closer to home.
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“Most of the kids, they pray for other kids that they see in school that are getting bullied or they have friends that are going through depression,” she said. “Some of the youth, they pray for their friends that are doing drugs. They pray for people who are alone and have no place to go.”
Kristie Renya, 11, said she believes in the power of prayer and feels that coming to the youth rosary has made a difference in her life. “It changed my heart, my feelings,” she said. “I used to hate. Now, I pray for people who hate. They need help.”
Kristie, a sixth grader at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, said she plans to keep attending the prayer session because “I want to follow God’s path, my right path.” Andrade often lets the children lead the group. On Feb. 28, it was Dylan Vasquez’s turn. The 9-year-old led the group through a decade of the rosary and offered a Scripture reading. He said he wasn’t nervous.
“I was leading the whole thing. I am used to it. In my class, I wrote poems and I shared them in my class. I have more experience going in front of people,” said Dylan, a fourth grader at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School. St. Michael’s Youth Rosary meets most Fridays at 7 p.m. from September to June, but the schedule can change from time to time.
This month, Andrade is launching a new effort to bring young people closer to the church: a weekly opportunity for Eucharistic adoration. Set to begin on March 27, teenagers and young children will gather in a chapel at the church on the last Thursday of each month to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
“It will be good for the young people,” Andrade said.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Anyone interested in more information or attending a St. Michael’s Youth Rosary session can call the rectory at: 718-768-6065