Holy Rosary
Catholic Church
Served by the Scalabrinian
missionaries since 1890
911 E. Missouri Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri
News from the Parish
Images from the Feast of Our Lady of
the Audience, Sunday, May 18
The Catholic Key published an article about this year's feast.
Feast of the Holy Rosary, October 6, 2007
We are grateful to Bishop Finn who graciously accepted to preside at our celebration. The Bishop walked and prayed in the 
procession, celebrated the mass
and enjoyed the delicious
food and good company.
The bishop thanked the
Scalabrini Fathers for their
long service at Holy Rosary
and the people for their
support and collaboration.
The Vietnamese team deserved a BIG THANK YOU
for the marvelous job. They
donated all the food, they prepared it, cooked it and served it with
great joy. The income was $925.
We thank the Knights of Columbus,
the choir members, the Scouts and volunteers who helped to set up the tables and chairs, serve and clean after
the dinner. We also thank all the people who participated at the feast, especially the ladies who prepared the delicious
vietamese food and 635 egg rolls.
Carthage, Vietnamese Mecca
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Vietnamese
Marian Days celebration in Carthage, Missouri. The 3 days
festivities begin on Thursday evening with a Pontifical Mass,
procession and benediction and conclude on Sunday morning
with a solemn mass and closing ceremony. Friday and
Saturday are two full days with several masses, adoration,
other forms of prayer
and conferences all
throughout the day for
people of all ages and
all needs.
I went with people
from the parish on
Saturday, August 4,
and our pilgrimage
began at 5 a.m. from
Kansas City and we
arrived in Carthage at
7:45 a.m.
We are welcomed by
the colossal statue of Our Lady, high in the sky, brightened
by the morning sun, at the center of the Queen of Peace
garden, also known the “prayer garden” at the entrance of
the 30 acres property of the Congregation of the Mother
Coredemptrix. 
In the garden there are bronze plaques with
thousands of names, some of living benefactors, most of
them loved ones now deceased, whose families asked the
priests and seminarians to remember them in their masses
and prayer. It reminds me of Ellis Island. As we walk through
the garden, we could hear singing and praying coming from
the outdoor “Platform” where the first of the 11 masses of
the day is being celebrated and attended by hundreds of pilgrims.
The whole area is filled with several hundreds tents of
all sizes where most of the 70,000 Vietnamese pilgrims
camp. Most of them live in the diaspora, and come from all
over the United States, Canada, Australia and some from
Vietnam. The local people welcome the pilgrims and offer
their yards and property to set their tents. It reminds me of
the Jewish feast of the Tents (Tabernacles), the second
greatest annual Jewish feast ordered by God to remember
the Exodus, the liberation of the Jewish people from the
slavery of Egypt and the camping in tents during the long
desert journey to the Promised Land.
The thousands of participants at the Marian Days are pilgrims who are celebrating their own liberation from the communist power and their journey into the new land of freedom of North America. Unlike the Jewish celebration, these tents are not just symbols of the past, but they are set up to accommodate today’s pilgrims, most of them first generation refugees and migrants.
The hero leader of their liberation is not Moses,
but a Woman, whom I call the 
“Ecumenical”
Madonna, acclaimed, honored and venerated during the
celebrations as Our Lady of La Vang, Fatima, Lourdes and Holy Rosary, the name of my parish. To me
this is the Vietnamese Thanksgiving, comparable to the
American Thanksgiving celebration, the safe arrival of the
Pilgrims from Europe to the United States and their welcome
by the Indians. The symbol of this Vietnamese Thanksgiving
is not a turkey, but it should be a boat, which was the most
common means of escape from Vietnam.
Many huge commercial tents are set up in the area to provide food for the pilgrims. These tents are sponsored by Vietnamese parishes across the United States and Canada. One tent where we have breakfast has 100 tables, capable to accommodate 1000 pilgrims. It is surrounded by giant fans to provide some comfort in the intense heat. Many other tents are scattered all over the property. Two hundred and thirty priests and over 130 religious sisters are present with a special visible name tag that enables them to enjoy free meals at the community cafeteria.
I was able to walk around for a couple of hours early in the morning and I spent the heat of the day inside the chapel and other air conditioned buildings due to my heart condition and the intense heat. I make some quick exits to take pictures and to see special groups passing by. At 5 p.m., I came out to see the procession lining up. Most of the priests dress up and walk in the procession with hundreds of pilgrims who accompany the International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Each pilgrim carries a small Vietnamese flag.
At the end of the 90-minute procession, the statue reaches the altar it is saluted by thousands of pilgrims who raise their flags and acclaim Mary with shouts of joy mixing their voices to the loud blasts of fireworks. Thousands of balloons are released in the sky. There is an hour break. At 8 p.m. the temperature is still very high and I am undecided whether to concelebrate or not. In the chapel where the priests are getting ready, I look at the statue of O. L. of Fatima and I pray, “Mary, I count on you” and then I join the priests and three bishops procession to the Platform while several thousand pilgrims are ready for the Pontifical Mass. The angelic voices of 300-400 choir members lead the singing.
I feel a little uncomfortable
and suddenly
I see the priest
to my right and one
behind me with a fan
in their hands some of
the air blowing around
me and I feel blessed.
The readings, the
prayers and the homily
are in Vietnamese
except for the gospel
and few reflections in
English during the
homily. A religious dance is 
performed by 50-60
young girls holding two lit candle cups in their hands. At communion time
each of the 200 priests
receives a ciborium with
hosts and is led by an
usherette among the
thousands pilgrims to distribute
communion. The Mass with the
final comments and
thanks lasted over two hours and then while
the celebrants and the pilgrims head for a late dinner we
start for home.
While I was resting in the cafeteria, I attended a conference in Vietnamese, and the only words I understood were Fatima and Lourdes. I realized how the Vietnamese people must feel when they attend our weekend masses in English. I am 78 years old, and if I was younger, I would certainly start to learn Vietnamese. The Marian Days celebration is a God inspired, magnificent splendidly organized event and the celebration committee deserves the appreciation and the admiration of all.
It was a long and memorable day. I have been at
Lourdes, Fatima, and at Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in
Mexico City, but this was a very unique celebration and one
of the greatest religious experiences of my life for which I
will be forever grateful. It helped me better understand and
appreciate the rich faith and devotion of the Vietnamese
people. I would highly recommend to any bishop, priest,
religious, and lay people who have Vietnamese people in
their parish to attend one of the Marian Days.
The rest of the story
On the first week of August for the last six years, I noticed an almost a total exodus of the Vietnamese community from the parish. They were all going to the town of Carthage, south Missouri, for a special celebration. I presumed they were anticipating the feast of the Assumption of Mary, August 15. When I asked them they answered no, it was not the feast of the Assumption. I asked, “Is it the feast of O. L. of La Vang, the patroness of Vietnam”? "No, we are going for the Marian Days celebration."
People invited me every year but I could not go. This year I made plans to go, but when the forecast was for the heat wave to continue, I was concerned about my heart condition and I decided not to take a chance. People called the seminary, where the feast is held, and informed the priests about my condition and they assured them that there will be a room for me. So I decided to go. This year I learned the reason for the celebration.
I was also very surprised to learn that the “Marian Days Celebration” is an ecumenical event and many Buddhists participate at mass, the procession, the many conferences and activities. Many of them believe in the Virgin Mary and claim to have experienced many of her blessings. Many Buddhist volunteers spend several days before and after the feast to help with the preparations, the set up and the cleaning. I found this amazing!
The Marian Days celebration is very rich in biblical significance and also comparable to the American National Thanksgiving celebration and I am sure that such references are emphasized during the celebrations. They add much more meaning to the Marian Days. It is more than a local cultural event it is seen as part of God’s global plan of development for the human family.
The Marian Days celebration began in 1997 and the attendance was 1700 pilgrims. Now the attendance is up to 60 to 70.000. I greatly admire the person who originated the Marian Days Celebration. He was a prophet and a visionary, certainly inspired by the “Ecumenical” Madonna.
“Saints marching in”
Holy Rosary has the largest number of statues of Madonnas and saints in the diocese. Since my arrival in the parish and the painting and restoring of the statues, I have expressed my desire to know the story of these statues and how they “marched in” to Holy Rosary. The stories of the statues of the saints are found in the link on left labeled "Statues of the Saints."
If you have a story about your family and their relationship to the statues of the saints or favors received through the intercession of our saints at Holy Rosary, please send it to the parish office. These stories will enrich our parish history.