Holy Rosary
Catholic Church
Served by the Scalabrinian
missionaries since 1890
911 E. Missouri Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri
Our Lady of the Audience, 2010
Our celebration last Sunday was a combination of the feast of Pentecost
and Our Lady of the Audience. A first time participant to the 2009 feast of Our Lady of the Audience claims that he experienced a miracle. He was called for a heart transplant on that same day.
I believe the miracle this year was experienced by the whole assembly. The extraordinary participation to the feast was the largest of any celebration at Holy Rosary in the last 10 years. I consider it the first miracle of Our Lady’s feast this year. How many people were exposed and touched by Mary’s love and blessings! The whole assembly prayed and sang with such love and devotion. That devotion reminded me of the Pentecost that we were celebrating.
Accompanied by the organ, musical instruments and the choir it sounded like an angelic assembly. When the celebration moved outdoors for the shower of rose petals, everybody reached out to catch the rose petals that were raining down over the statue. The rose petals ran out, but the lucky catchers of the petals were gracious to share them with others.
Dulcis in fundo: Delicious home made cookies and refreshments were enjoyed by all as well as the warm company of old and new friends. I am grateful to the Molle clan and the devotees from Sambuca and elsewhere who are a vital part of the feast; to all who prepared the cookies, those who served in church and outdoors and everyone who participated and made our celebration a spiritual experience and historical event.
From immediate comments I heard, I can tell you that most people who attended the celebration came with hope and expectations for blessings and healing. They left satisfied and grateful with the assurance that Our Blessed Mother has blessings and healing for everyone and even miracles for the daring believers in Her love.
A special thank you to my assistant-partner, deacon John Barelli, whose father, Dr. Pat Barelli, was the oldest participant from Sambuca.
May Our Lady of the Audience continue to bless and protect us.
On the lighter side, this year I missed the delicious taste of Sambuca, (honestly, I did not look for it), but it was well compensated by more healthy substitutes.
Next year's celebration will be Sunday, May 22, 2011.
The history of Our Lady of the Audience at Holy Rosary
This devotion started in Italy in the mid 1500’s when a deadly plague threatened the life of the people of Sambuca, Sicily. All human and medical resources had failed and the citizens turned to the Blessed Virgin for help. The plague stopped miraculously and the thankful people carried the statue of Our Lady of the Audience through the streets praying the rosary and singing with joy.
The feast became an annual celebration with a solemn mass, procession, festival and fireworks and the participation of people of the neighboring towns.
In Kansas City, in the early 1900’s when Antonio and Saveria (Sara) Molle migrated to Kansas City, they brought this devotion with them. They ordered a replica statue of Our Lady of the Audience for Holy Rosary Church and they organized the annual feast in her honor with the same devotion and solemnity as they had experienced in Sambuca. All “paesani” and many people from the greater Kansas City area participated and the feast became very popular.
The celebration is more than a memory
of a past miracle. It is and it has been the expression
of gratitude to Mary by her devotees who continue to experience
her blessings personally and in their families.
For the annual feast the statue of Our Lady of the Audience
is draped in a jeweled cape with a blue sash holding
a crystal rosary and other mementos donated by devotees.
The statue in her regalia is displayed only during the
feast. 
There is another inspiring part of the feast. At the end of the mass, the statue is carried in procession outside the church and set on a stand. A poem is recited in Sicilian, followed by a prayer and a blessing. Then a shower of rose petals falls over the statue. People catch and treasure these petals and believe that they assure Mary’s blessings and good health for another year. People volunteer to share their experience of blessings and even miracles through the intercession of Our Lady of the Audience.
A first time visitor who attended the feast last year went home with a pocket full of rose petals claims that he experienced a miracle the same day. A Hispanic family who attended the feast in 2008 also claims a miracle that took place in Mexico. So Our Lady has international connections.
Attendance to the feast has been increasing in the last few years with the participation of people of different cultures. We are grateful to the extended Molle family, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, who with the collabration of parishioners and friends of Holy Rosary, have continued the tradition started by their pioneers Antonio and Saveria Molle.
Upcoming Events
Feast of the Holy Rosary
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Welcome to Holy Rosary Parish
where you will enjoy an exquisite taste of Italian spirituality. Colorful stained glass windows, 26 statues of Mary and the saints, and the richness of marble altars and memorial plaques place you in an Italian spiritual environment.
When the parish was founded in 1890, the Holy Rosary neighborhood was solidly Italian. The second and third generations of those Italian immigrants grew up, married and moved out of the area, often with their parents. Their move made room for new migrants, first Cubans and then Vietnamese.
Between 1950 and 1960, most of the Italian parishes staffed by the Scalabrini Missionaries across the United States became multi–cultural and multi–national.
The Missionary goal of the Scalabrini Community originally was for the Italian migrants and their descendants. The mission was extended to include migrants of all nationalities. It was a turning point and a re-birth for the Missionaries.
At Holy Rosary parish, a Vietnamese priest lived at the parish rectory from 1981 to 1991. He provided all religious and pastoral services to the Vietnamese community. In June 1991, the diocese established a Vietnamese parish and the Vietnamese priest became the pastor of that new parish.
The religious services in Vietnamese were discontinued at Holy Rosary. But the Vietnamese people living in the neighborhood and surrounding areas who have been attending Holy Rosary still participate in our church services. They are a vital part of our family community and they are welcome. The parish weekly bulletin has a section in Vietnamese. Since the 2004 Advent season, the gospel in Vietnamese is read on Sundays and on weekday masses.
We invite you to join us. Please feel free to take a
look at our weekly bulletin and join us for mass. We've included
our mass schedule for your convenience. Please join us!
Fr. Joseph Vicentini, cs
Everyone is welcome to join us at Holy Rosary for religious and social events.
Weekday Mass Schedule
Weekday Masses, 8:00 a.m.
Mass Schedule
Saturday, 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Weekdays, 8:00 a.m.
Holy Days and Feast Days, please consult the bulletin for dates and times.
Confessions
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anytime by appointment.
Annual Parish Celebrations
Our Lady of the Audience
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Feast of the Holy Rosary
Sunday, October 3, 2010