Tag Archives: Holy Rosary Church

Feast of Holy Rosary A Street Festival with Heart and Spirit- August 11th – August 15th, 2010

front-of-hr-churchLa Festa Italiana 2010:  The Holy Rosary Church organizes this wonderful  street festival, celebrating Italian-American traditions, spirituality, with  evenings of music, dance and authentic Italian foods.

Since I can remember the Holy Rosary Feast has always been a downtown Jersey City tradtion. Holy Rosary was my parish and my family has lived in the Village section of Jersey City  around the corner from Holy Rosary, for for over 90 years. I love the area and the people. The old time Village people and the new residents that have made it home in the last 15 years. Wonderful people all of them living and loving their neighborhoods.  This is the fabric of the Village section of Jersey City, and the Holy Rosary feast. This feast  gets better every year.

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Spalding Memories and the Games We Used to Play

Nicholas Balesterri’s Childhood Games Inspire a Book and (maybe) a Reality Show     

 nicky-bal-stick-ball-21By Sally Deering

In the 1960s, Nicholas Balesterri and his pals – all Baby Boomers – grew up around 7th and Brunswick Street in Jersey City and played all sorts of games on one of the greatest game boards in town – the four corners of their neighborhood.  This was back in the day before Nintendo, IBox and other electronic games that are giving our kids “couch potato syndrome.”

Balesterri remembers those street games and the fun he had with his pals when all they had to amuse themselves was a Spalding, a high-bouncing, pink rubber ball they picked up at the corner store for 19 cents.  Balesterri and his pals would use that Spalding for all sorts of inventive challenges: nicky-bal-stick-ballStick Ball, Box Ball, Stick Ball against the Wall, OUT, Point on the Ledge – games they played with sticks, cans and their own ingenuity.

 These games and others like them are the theme for the book Balesterri and his sister Amelia Fano are working on, “”The Games We Used to Play, Sticks, Balls and Cans,” that explains how the games are played and features anecdotes of Balesterri’s memories “growing up on the corner.” 

 
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Holy Rosary Church Downtown Jersey City to Celebrate the First Mass of Christmas at Midnight In Latin

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Holy Rosary  is  the Oldest Established Italian Parish in New Jersey

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Holy Rosary Church has announced plans to celebrate a Traditional Solemn High Mass on Christmas Eve at Midnight. 

The Traditional Mass or the Extraordinary Form as Pope Benedict XVI identifies it in his Apostolic Letter “Summorum Pontificum” is celebrated in Latin according to the Missal of 1962.  This missal was issued under Blessed John XXIII and remained in use until some years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. 

A prelude of seasonal music by Herbeck, Praetorius and Victoria will be performed by the Holy Rosary Choir preceding the mass at 11:15 pm.  During the mass the choir under the direction of Harold Bott will sing the Mass in G by Schubert accompanied by organ and strings. The Holy Rosary Schola will sing the Propers of the Mass in Gregorian chant from the Liber Usualis. Continue reading Holy Rosary Church Downtown Jersey City to Celebrate the First Mass of Christmas at Midnight In Latin

La Festa Italiana – The Tradition Lives On at Holy Rosary Church in Downtown Jersey City

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Tradition…a concept that is certainly not unique to the Italian and Italian American culture, but which is almost universally mentioned when telling the story of those who are of Italian heritage.  Nevertheless, one is tempted to wonder if the paesani who immigrated to the United States from Morrone del Sannio, Campobasso (Region of Molise), Italy, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and who settled in the ethnic enclave that would become a vibrant “Little Italy” in downtown Jersey City, could have foreseen that their grandchildren and great grandchildren would, more than a century later, still be carrying on one of their grandest traditions.  Probably not!  Yet, that is exactly what is happening, as the third and fourth generation members of the Maria S.S. Dell’Assunta Society, founded by their Morronese ancestors in 1902, are now preparing for the 98th annual Feast of the Assumption, at Holy Rosary Church in historic downtown Jersey City. 

La Festa Italiana, which now encompasses the feast of St. Rocco, in addition to the Assumption feast of old, includes both elements of the traditional Italian feast, combining spirituality with the typical Italian street festival.  The religious celebration begins with a Novena in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption (Thursday, August 6th, to Friday, August 14th, at 7:00 p.m., with a candlelight procession through the streets of downtown Jersey City on la vigilia di festa August 14th) and culminates in the Assumption Feast Day Mass, to be celebrated by Most Rev. Thomas A. Donato, Aux. Bishop of Newark and Regional Bishop for Hudson County (11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 15th), and the St. Rocco Feast Day Mass, to be celebrated by Most Rev. Dominic A. Marconi, Ret. Aux. Bishop of Newark (11:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 16th). 

The old-world style street festival will include deliziosi Italian food, full service bar, outdoor cafe, rides, games, and live entertainment.  A highlight for many is the wine and peaches stand, proudly called “A Taste of Campobasso”, which is still operated by the Society and staffed by the descendants of its original founders, including the popular “Wine Girls”, who will be happy to serve you some of the best wine and peaches around! 

YOU’RE INVITED TO JOIN US!  On August 15th at 9:00 p.m., in front of the Campobasso wine stand, a special “toast” will be offered to honor all feast workers and Society members (including the memory of those who are no longer with us) who have worked hard to preserve Italian culture and the beautiful traditions that our ancestors carried with them from the old country.  Don’t forget to wear your feast shirts, as we gather together for this unique display of unity, love, and respect!  The festival will take place on 6th Street, between Brunswick and Monmouth Streets, in the Downtown section of Jersey City, and will run from Wednesday, August 12th, through Sunday, August 16th, 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m..  For more details, call 201-795-0120 Ext. 103, or Carmine Colasurdo at 201-966-7745.  Buona Festa a Tutti