Young adults from several parishes will gather at the Cathedral of the Assumption May 1, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, to lead the people of the Archdiocese of Louisville in praying the rosary and the Litany of St. Joseph at 10 a.m.
Their prayers will be live-streamed on the Cathedral’s YouTube Channel. A link is available at www.archlou.org/san-jose/.
Their words will be in Spanish, but the prayers will be the familiar decades of the rosary and other prayers related to the Year of St. Joseph. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz will also make an appearance during the service via recorded video.
Eva Gonzalez, director of Hispanic Ministry for the archdiocese, is encouraging families to join in the prayer service, which will provide a plenary indulgence to families who also go to confession, receive Communion and pray for the pope’s intentions in the Year of St. Joseph.
According to the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, families and engaged couples may obtain plenary indulgences during the Year of St. Joseph by praying the rosary together in order that “all Christian families may be stimulated to recreate the same atmosphere of intimate communion, love and prayer that was in the Holy Family.”
Gonzalez noted, “the family involves not just the couples but also the children. Having the young adults leading it, they’re giving testimony of their faith.”
“It has been a hard year with COVID. Despite everything, I trust in God,” she said. “I’m still united in him. What better way to show it than to pray the rosary?”
She said that with the prayer service at the Cathedral, “we are tackling several things at one time: recognizing St. Joseph as a father, the indulgence, recognizing how important the family is, the challenges this year and how many challenges families have had.”
“This is a chance to offer this rosary for families. How many of us know someone who is struggling? This year has hit us so hard in so many ways. To strengthen our relationship with God, I think this is the least we can do.”
The rosary will be led by 10 young adults, members of a cohort who started a bilingual certificate program with the University of Dayton in April. The cohort has 18 students who are learning to become “missionary disciples” during the year-long program.
The Bilingual Certification Program on Missionary Discipleship is designed for Hispanic young adults — ages 18-35 — who have a ministry or would like to have a ministry at the parish or diocesan level.
The program is meant for those who “wish to be formed as missionary disciples capable of making other young people … fall in love with Jesus and create inclusive and diverse communities of faith,” program materials said.
The participants come from six parishes — St. Rita, St. Bartholomew, Annunciation, Epiphany, St. Edward and St. Peter the Apostle.
They’re leading the rosary on May 1 as a way to practice what they are learning and to begin their public ministry as members of the cohort.
“To recite the rosary on live streaming offers an opportunity for evangelization of young people and families that is very much needed,” Gonzalez added.