Letter from Msgr. Schaedel for bulletin of June 18, 2000

Dear Parishioners,

Happy Fathers’ Day! We wish all of our parish fathers God’s blessing in a very special way. May Saint Joseph, the patron of fathers and the patron of Italy, pray for you and with you. The vocation of “father” is wonderful one. Enjoy your special day.

Father Duvelius and I and all priests enjoy that very special title, “Father.” We are “spiritual fathers” to those we seek to serve in our ministry for the Church.

The seventeenth annual Italian Street Festival is over and tucked away for another year. What a splendid weekend it was! The weather was with us. I had asked Ida Mae Mascari to pray with and for us on that issue! She must have. It was great. We had only a hint of rain after the 7:00 p.m. Mass Saturday. It didn’t last too long.

Friday evening was wonderful. Through the efforts of the Italian Heritage Society, we dedicated the new plaque on the northwest corner of our parking lot across the street from the church. It commemorates the “Holy Rosary—Danish Church Historic District. Several dignitaries were on hand: Father Dennis Duvelius, our associate pastor; Governor and Mrs. Frank O’Bannon, Chief Deputy Mayor Michael O’Connor, John Accetturo, president, and other member of the Italian Heritage Society; and Paul J. Roland, honorary Vice-Consul of Italy for Indiana. Our own long-time parishioners, Mary Sansone Mascari and Pete Corsaro helped Governor O’Bannon unveil the marker.

It’s interesting to note that besides our own Holy Rosary Church and its Italian members, there was Trinity Danish Evangelical Church in our neighborhood at one time. Ninety-percent of the neighborhood was once Italian immigrants, but the Danish residents did form their own church for a number of years here as well. Pastor Jeff Iacobazzi, pastor of the First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church ECLA was also on hand for the ceremony. It was a very nice affair.

Saturday night at the Italian Street Festival was packed. A highlight for many people were the Masses at 4:30 and 7:00 pm. It was so wonderful to see our church so full. As usual, the Catholic Choir of Indianapolis did a splendid job with the music. Thanks to all who assisted: the altar servers, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and the ushers. We were also privileged to have three seminarians at the Mass. Peter Byrne of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, and two of our archdiocesan seminarians: Rob Hankee of Saint Pius X and Brian Teipen of Saint Lawrence. Thanks to all!

It would be impossible for me to even begin to thank everyone who made our Italian Street Festival such a success. The families who volunteer their time and work so hard each year are the key. I am amazed at their dedication to our beloved Holy Rosary Parish and her annual festival. In the name of the Holy Rosary Parish Community, I cannot thank you enough!

I am, however, going to single out a few people:

The first are David Page and Matthew Iaria, general chairs of the whole event. How they pull this thing off so smoothly year after year is amazing to me. I could go on and on, but I won’t. It would embarrass both of them. Suffice it to say we cannot do it without David and Matthew and their families. They love Holy Rosary—and it shows.

Next is Bernie Greene, our business manager. He’s another one who seems to be able to pull things together almost automatically. He has bounced back so quickly from his recent heart attack! I shudder to think how many hours he puts in, particularly around festival time and other special times of the year. On behalf of all of us, I cannot thank him enough for his tireless dedication to Holy Rosary Parish.

The fourth person is Annette Rose. Annette, with the help of many others, organizes the religious procession with the statue of Mary that precedes the 7:00 Mass. It was beautiful. Thank you, Annette.

At this point, we do not have all of the expenses accounted for. However, we did “take in” nearly $30,000 more than we did last year on ticket sales. Keep in mind, however, that 1999 was down a bit because of rain and some conflicting events downtown.

I would also like to thank the members of Mater Dei Council #437 of the Knights of Columbus. They manned a booth on the festival grounds, which distributed information about the Catholic Church and our parish. It was a wonderful tool for evangelization. Thanks, Knights!

By the way, during the Italian Street Festival last week I was deeply touched by the number of people who stopped in the church to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, light a candle, or pray before one of the shrines. Any number of times, I observed young couples taking a moment out from the frolic and fun of the festival to slip into the church to pray together. It was beautiful. Devotion is not dead.

This weekend we welcome Father Michael Omongot of the Archdiocese of Tororo, Uganda, East Africa. He will preach at all the Masses to ask for our support of the missions there. His archbishop, the Most Rev. James Odongo, is a personal friend. I know you will be generous, as usual.

Next weekend is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ. It is a beautiful feast that highlights our belief that Christ is truly present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—in the Holy Eucharist. We will have the traditional Corpus Christi Procession following the 12:15 p.m. Mass next Sunday. Please try to attend; bring our young people!

Faithfully in God’s Providence,

Msgr. Schaedel