Piccola Italia

 Be Not Afraid

I have lost many fotos, and went through some trouble regaining some of them. It took me a time to get the date of this one, 24 April 2010.  Again, and again, these words are spoken by angels in Scripture. Jesus says this to the Two Maries outside the sepulchre on Easter morn, "Nolite timere". At the Mayfield entrance of Cleveland's Holy Rosary, there is a metal railing, this cross was bolted to it. One would see this side of the cross leaving the church. The message is for all of us. For those of us who fought to regain parishes, this was one of our slogans. 

Holy Rosary was in no danger of closing. Lennon (Cleveland's bishop) as many American bishops were de-nationalising dioceses (a form of ethnic cleansing). Many people believed this church was not going to be closed. Some people only go to church for weddings, baptisms, funerals, and perhaps Christmas, and Easter. Many Italian men are not particularly observant, and this parish had been the home to several involved in certain businesses. Lennon went very hard at the nationalities. He closed only one Italian church, and it had lost parish status years ago. Our Lady of Mount Carmel-East was officially an oratory (chapel), and its closure was not made public.

I fotoed one day, an elderly Italian woman took notice of me (as did one woman at St. Rocco's). We were in the narthex (vestibule). We had a small discussion about the ongoing closures. There was a framed photograph of Lennon on the wall. She waved her cane at it. She to me did say, Lennon knows very well what she thinks of him. She also had written to him. As deep, and as broad as opposition was (and is) to lennonism, it is not publicly recorded, and therefore, many do not know of it. Such silence protects the aggressor, and wrong doer. These two women (and they are not alone) loved their parish churches, this is something Richard Lennon can not fathom.

I found a bunch of fotos, i really liked from Holy Rosary. Here are a few:

Holy Rosary church seen through electric rail stanchion

 The eye needs to find interesting sights to view, appreciate, and on occasion to photograph.

 Saint Anthony of Padua and Lisbon is a favorite among many Italians, and other peoples.

Saint John Bosco is another favorite saint. To the left is Bosco's big grey dog (Grigio), many believed he was an angelic protector.

 church of two dogs

It is not the only dog that appears in the church. The usual altarpiece, on the high altar is Mary, Queen of the Rosary, giving rosaries to SS. Dominic and Thérèse, and there is a dog. There is a pun on the Dominicans (Domini canes, dogs of the Lord). The dog could be carrying a bouquet of flowers, but it is a torch.

The altarpiece is moved to another room, to place a statue of the Risen Christ on the altar for Easter.

SS. Mariano, Biagio, Giacomo were patron saints of the village of Rionero Sannitico, Campobasso Italy. Many of the villagers belonged to St. Marian parish, which became a part of Holy Rosary in 1975. These souvenirs of remembrances now have an alcove.

 and i can throw in other pictures, but i will stop with this one