“As members of the Altar Rosary Society, you are visible angels who bring God’s message and are a sign of his presence in your parishes,” said Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., in addressing 200 Altar Rosary members from 10 parishes across Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

In his homily for the society’s 22nd annual gathering – also the Feast of Guardian Angels – Bishop O’Connell called angels “messengers of God’s love” who help guide and lead the faithful on their path to God.

“As adults, do we still believe in guardian angels?” he asked. “They are not just a poetic image or concept. The Word of God and the teachings of Christ tell us there are angels. God does whatever it takes to bring us to his presence.”

Photo Gallery: 22nd Annual Regional Altar Society Gathering

For years, Altar Rosary Society members from Ocean and Southern Monmouth Counties have gathered annually to share their ministry and build camaraderie with a Mass and luncheon. The event held Oct. 2 in Sacred Heart Church, Bay Head, brought together the members of Altar Rosary Societies from Sacred Heart, St. Denis, Manasquan; St. Mary of the Lakes, Lakewood; St. Junipero Serra, Seaside Park; Visitation, Brick; St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Lavallette; St. Peter, Point Pleasant Beach; St. Dominic, Brick; St. Martha, Point Pleasant, and St. Barnabas, Bayville.

“It’s grown so much, from six to 10 parishes,” said Dorothy Macchia, reflecting on the number of participating parishes over the years. Macchia, who is past-president of the society in Sacred Heart Parish, initiated the idea of bringing members from neighboring Altar Rosary Societies together based on her previous parish experience from when she lived in the Archdiocese of Newark.

“When I moved here in 1994, I thought it would be good to try here,” she said, recalling that the first Mass 22 years ago was celebrated in Sacred Heart Church by Msgr. Casimir Ladzinski, who at the time was pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, and episcopal vicar of Ocean County. The Mass was then followed by a breakfast in the Bay Head Yacht Club. Noting that each parish had been asked to host the Mass over the years, she said with the 2019 gathering, “We’ve come full circle” with the 22nd regional gathering being once being again hosted in Sacred Heart Church, then added how delighted Rosarians were to see Msgr. Ladzinski among the concelebrants.

As society members joined in the singing of Marian hymns and witnessed the placement of long-stemmed white roses before a statue of the Blessed Mother, they reflected on the mission of the Altar Rosary Society as being a venerable organization of women who serve their parishes by caring for the altar linens and liturgical vestments while promoting recitation of the Rosary and devotion to Mary.

“This gathering of women from different parishes – it’s the Church, and the Church is community,” said Rosemary Petrovich of St. Dominic Parish. “This is who we are. To worship together is a beautiful thing, and the presence of the Bishop says how important this gathering of women is.”