Italians Celebrate St. Joseph

Stefanie Gutierrez Photos

“VIVA ST. JOSEPH!” could be heard through the streets of Ridgewood this past Sunday, March 18, as eight parishes came together to celebrate St. Joseph’s feast day.

Auxilliary Bishop Frank Caggiano was the main celebrant and served as homilist at the 4 p.m. Italian Mass at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, Ridgewood. Several priests and deacons concelebrated. The church was filled with community members and parishioners from St. Aloysius, St. Matthias and St. Brigid, Ridgewood; St. Margaret and Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village; and St. Pancras and Sacred Heart, Glendale.

Catholic Italian-American associations from both Brooklyn and Queens carried their banners through the streets and lead over 500 people through the procession that followed after Mass. The Coastal Patrol Cadet Corps played military and contemporary music that filled the streets. People living along the route peeked outside their windows and front doors to listen to their drums and bells.

Participants spoke of their special devotions to St. Joseph and one man was brought to tears as the statue passed and he said, “I just lost my wife. We both had such a devotion to St. Joseph.”

Anthony Tumminello, an usher, commented, “We have performed this feast for over 44 years, and we have a strong belief in St. Joseph, in fatherhood, and in family. Good or bad weather, we are here.”

After the procession, the bread of St. Joseph was distributed, as it symbolizes “the strength of the family,” Tumminello said.

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