Story by Joe Pisani
Photos by Mark Conrad
TRUMBULL — The pews were packed at St. Catherine of Siena for a Mass honoring Our Lady of the Rosary.
It was a special day in the life of the parish, with Bishop Frank J. Caggiano blessing the new St. Catherine of Siena Shrine and a renovated Marian Prayer Garden, along with the veneration of relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, not to mention the blessing of pets and stuffed animals.
At one point in his homily, the bishop looked out at the packed church, filled with crying babies, youngsters and teenagers, parents and grandparents, and offered them words of hope:
“The tide is turning,” he said. “The world is beginning to realize the emptiness of the promises that many made. More and more young people are yearning for meaning and purpose in life. Young parents are looking to place their children where they can grow in wisdom and grace, where they can be kept safe and understand that life has hope and a purpose and a destiny. And so, as that tide begins to turn in this contemporary world, let us commit ourselves to walk in the footsteps of Our Lady and remain faithful to Jesus, despite the struggles we face.”
Then, he told the faithful: “Take up the Rosary and pray it every day.”
“Pray it when you’re suffering, when you’re doubting, when you’re anxious, when you’re fearful,” he said. “Pray it, and you will feel the eternal love of Our Lady guiding you.”
The bishop previously announced the new tradition of Rosary Weekend, honoring Our Lady of the Rosary, to be celebrated each year on the first weekend of October.
“The Rosary should be on the lips of us all, please God, every day in this journey to becoming ever more faithful,” he said. “We are here together so that you and I can walk to Heaven together. And when I fail, you can lift me up. When you fail, I will lift you up. As we will do with one another. And along the way, Our Lady, the Morning Star, the Sacred Crescent Moon, will lead us.”
He used a metaphor of Blessed Fulton Sheen, who described the Blessed Mother as the moon, which having no light of its own, perfectly reflects the light of the sun — her Son.
“The moon is brightest, my friends, when the sky is darkest,” he said. “And so, Our Lady, in those moments of fidelity was never more faithful than when she was suffering, as she was also Our Lady of Sorrows.”
He also urged them to pray for the graces to become ever more faithful, like Our Lady, whom he described as “the perfect disciple,” a model for all Catholics.
“We, too, are called to reflect the light of truth that we have heard from the lips of the Savior in a world that doesn’t want to hear it. The world will just have to hear it from you and me in word and in action. The times when we are in suffering and pain and challenge and doubt are the times when you and I must run to Our Lady, who will bring us to her Son, and in those moments, the Lord is never closer to us than when we are suffering for he knows what it’s like to suffer.”
In his comments, pastor Father Joseph A. Marcello thanked Bishop Caggiano and congratulated him on the 20th anniversary of his ordination as bishop on August 22, 2006. He also expressed gratitude to everyone responsible for the Marian Prayer Garden improvements, including Mia Romano, a LIFE Scout in BSA Troop 168 in Trumbull, who undertook the installation of the outdoor Stations of the Cross as her Eagle Scout project.
He also explained the genesis of the St. Catherine of Siena Shrine, dedicated in memory of Monsignor Richard Shea, the fourth pastor of the parish. Father worked with sculptor Cody Swanson of Florence, Italy, to create the shrine with a statue, modeled after Bernini’s colonnade in the Vatican, which Monsignor Shea long admired.
“We are grateful also that the bishop has extended to the whole diocese this beautiful celebration of Rosary Sunday, which we have observed with his permission for several years at St. Catherine’s,” Father Marcello said. “This first weekend in October around the Diocese of Bridgeport from now on will be set aside to honor Our Lady and to spread devotion to the Holy Rosary.”
After Mass, parishioners went out to the lawn for the unveiling of the statue by the bishop, who blessed it, along with the Marian Prayer Garden with the Stations of the Cross. Then, students from St. Catherine of Siena School recited the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary in front of the statue of the Blessed Mother.
Parishioner Leah DeVito attended the ceremony with her daughters Gloria, a third-grader, and Josephine, a fifth-grader. She said Gloria has had a devotion to the Blessed Mother since she was 4, which has influenced the other members of their family.
She also praised Father Marcello for his work as pastor.
“This is so wonderful. We owe it all to him,” she said. “He is the most remarkable human being, and everything he does is for all of us.”
Mia Romano, whose Scout Master was parishioner Kate Gombos, said she began the Eagle Scout project for the outdoor Stations in October 2023, and with the help of her fellow Scouts did everything from fund-raising to clearing out the overgrown garden to installing the posts. The original garden was dedicated in April 2016 to Monsignor Shea on his 80th birthday.
“I was a little apprehensive because it had to be perfect,” she recalled. “The Stations are beautiful — better than I could have imagined.”
She said that with the help of many others, the garden was a perfect place for prayer and meditation in honor of Our Lady.
Trustee Jeff Wright said the parish was blessed to have Father Marcello as pastor and summed up the weekend: “We had a grand slam weekend at St. Catherine’s. Between having the major relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque with us, having Bishop Caggiano, who is such a gifted homilist, to celebrate the Votive Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary, and then having him bless our new beautiful outdoor St. Catherine of Siena Shrine in honor of our late pastor, Monsignor Richard Shea, as well as our newly revitalized Marian Prayer Garden and the new outdoor Stations of the Cross that are part of the garden, it was an incredibly special weekend for our parish family.”
