By Lois Rogers | Features Editor

On  Sept. 8 and 9, the most recent incarnation of the venerable San Gennaro Feast which traditionally melds prayer with charity and some mighty good Italian eats, sank roots in Belmar where, organizers hope, it will bloom and flourish as an annual event.

And from the looks of things at this first ever Jersey Shore version of a San Gennaro Feast, that’s a real possibility. Despite patches of rain on the opening day, scores of folks, including many families, turned out, dodged the drops and  stayed savor Belmar’s newest celebration where food stands laden with Italian and American specialties beckoned.

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Among them was long time St. Rose parishioner Margaret Madden who said it was about time the celebration spread to the shore. “I used to go to the San Gennaro Feast regularly in New York,” she said. “Having it on home ground…this is wonderful.”

Such steadfast determination and devotion in the opening, rainy early hours of the festival added to the harvest reaped for the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean County which reported that enough greenbacks were pinned to the red ribbons cascading from the statue of San Gennaro to fund 5,536 meals for those in need.

The feast in Belmar began, according to custom, with Mass in Italian in St. Rose Church, at which Msgr. Thomas A. Gervasio, diocesan vicar general, was the principal celebrant and the pastor, Msgr. Edward J. Arnister concelebrated. Mercy Sister Donna M. D’Alia, parish director of religious education, who is fluent in Italian, led the singing.

In his homily, Msgr. Gervasio recounted the story of San Gennaro,  also known as St. Januarius, a bishop and holy martyr during the Roman persecution of Christians in the early Church. His actual memorial is Sept. 19.

He said that in pondering how to preach on both San Gennaro and the Blessed Mother, whose Nativity is celebrated Sept. 8, he decided to focus on the fact that one of Mary’s titles is “Queen of Martyrs.”

 “San Gennaro had come to Benevento (where he was martyred) to visit a deacon who was arrested and imprisoned and was himself arrested, imprisoned and beheaded,” Msgr. Gervasio said. “We see in Mary and Gennaro the passion they suffered for Christ,” he said. “…Both reflected two words – trust (in Jesus) and courage.”

These words have applied to Christians down through the millennium, he said. And they apply today. “We may not be persecuted,” he said, “But we are tested…We are (charged) to follow Jesus’ admonition to not be afraid. Trust is the characteristic of the disciple. We are challenged, like Mary and like Gennaro, to trust in a lively, literal way, in the reality of God’s power…All Christians are called to be people of courage in an increasingly secular world.”

Msgr. Gervasio, also the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows – St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton, blessed the statue of San Gennaro which was carried in procession along Belmar’s main street and the sashes that would adorn three leading Italian Americans being honored by the festival committee: Monmouth County Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, the first “Son of San Gennaro” of the Jersey Shore; Maria Boccia, long-time Belmar resident and past president of the Belmar Women’s Club, the first “Daughter of San Gennaro” and Joe Leone, purveyor of Italian foods and culture, recognized as the Italian-American business person of the year.

The three donned their sashes and joined the procession in which the litter-borne statue of San Gennaro was carried proudly down the center of the borough’s main thoroughfare. The statue was   accompanied by a throng of faithful and a brass band playing Italian tunes. The brass band was the first of many musical events at the feast highlighting Italian music.

Standing in a light wind and rain just after the statue was set prayerfully in place in front of the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties booth, executive director Carlos M. Rodriguez, spoke of the terrific generosity of those attending the feast.

Such generosity has been a hallmark of the feast since it arrived on these shores, he noted. Indeed, histories of the feast record that the immigrant families who started the feast in New York invited all to partake of the culinary bounty in exchange for pinning an offering on the ribbon streamers that hung from the statue.

The money was then distributed to the poor of the neighborhood. In this case, the “pin money” will be used to purchase food for those in need Rodriquez said.

Rodriquez, a member of St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia said, “All of the money will go to the Foodbank where the need is greater than ever,” he said.

The Foodbank, he said, currently serves one in 10 residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties with monthly food donations. “That equates to 127,000 people. If you lined the people up, the line would stretch from Belmar to Trenton three times,” he explained.

That number reflects an 84 percent increase over the past five years, said Rodriquez who called having attention directed to the need during the feast a “wonderful way to spread awareness.”

The feast, organized by Daniel  DiCesare, a dentist and the owner of Nicchio Ristorante, one of the borough’s many popular eateries, was created as a way of shining a positive spotlight on Italian Americans, who, he said, “have been responsible contributors to our society and culture, in medicine, arts and entertainment, sports and scientific advances and so much more.”

Though the on-and-off rain on Saturday necessitated moving the gala outdoor concert featuring Louis Prima Jr. and The Witnesses indoors to the borough elementary school, crowds came out and people enjoyed themselves, he said.

DiCesare called the two day event a “way to remember the sacrifices our parents and grandparents made in helping to build this truly amazing country…it’s a way to give back and be true to the culture.”