The Rosary

I grew up in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. My childhood parish was Our Lady of Refuge on East 196 Street & Briggs Avenue. I was baptized there, made my first communion and confirmed there. And graduated from their school in 1970.

Growing up in the Bronx when I did was a great experience. A lot of fond memories of family and friends. This was before computers & smart phones. Your friends were real friends, not ones you meet on the computer through Facebook. Central to all these memories were the times at Our Lady of Refuge.

I vaguely remember the former pastor Msgr. Valentine Snyder. A good strong priest with a strong faith in Jesus Christ. He served Jesus Christ by teaching love and respect to the children entrusted to his care at the school. He was known to have a curfew for the kids that went to Our Lady of Refuge. If you were caught outside after 9 p.m., you were quickly sent home. Guaranteed the next day you were called to the principles office.

The pastor I remember most growing up was Msgr. Jeremiah Nemecek. I recall one Saturday morning around 1968 wanting to get out of the house and walking to Our Lady of Refuge to pay a visit (this was a time when churches were always opened). Msgr. Nemecek was out front on the corner of 196 Street & Briggs Avenue, praying his rosary. Near him was his pet dog (I forgot the breed or kind of dog, but do remember the dog being a loving affectionate animal). He recognized me as one from the school. I told him I was going to pay a visit to the church. He was apparently pleased at this and gave me the rosary he was praying on. I remember that day like it was yesterday. And I still have this rosary!!

Over the years I had stashed this rosary among the many other things that I collected over the years. It was only recently that I started using it to pray my daily rosary. I remember and pray for the repose of the soul of Msgr. Nemecek.


Another person that helped me develop a love for the rosary and for Our Lady was my sixth grade teacher, Sister Dominica. She was tough and fierce, but because of her being so tough, we learned what we needed to learn. I remember one day in class during a quiet time when everyone was reading and catching up on their work, she took hold of her habit rosary and started praying. This tough and strong woman took on the look of someone who obviously loved Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I'll never know this, but I now imagine that she was praying for us, her students.

I pray daily for those priests and nuns that served at Our Lady of Refuge. In particular I pray for Msgr. Snyder, Msgr. Nemecek, and Sr.Dominica. If you want to find out more about OLR, go to their website. Our Lady of Refuge is still an active parish in a poor neighborhood. Your donations would be well spent at OLR.

Long live Our Lady of Refuge!