by Katie Vasquez
Amid the sounds of evening rush hour at Grand Central Station, with thousands of people heading home from a busy day at work and in the middle of the hustle and bustle, one group stops, taking their time to pray.
“The rosary, as Padre Pio said, is the greatest weapon of all time,” said rosary prayer group member Ray Reyes.
For almost 40 years, members of the Legion of Mary at the Church of St. Agnes in Manhattan have come every Tuesday to recite the rosary outside the entrance to the 4, 5, and 6 trains.
The former associate pastor at St Agnes, Father William Shelley, started the rosary prayer group in the transit hub to help spread the faith.
“To stand up and represent the Catholic Church in public and, you know, in front of people of different walks of life, you know, and say, I’m proud to be Catholic,” said rosary prayer group member, Richard Harris.
Before he passed in 2012, Father Shelley entrusted them to keep the prayers going.
“When he knew that his time on earth was coming to a close, he asked Harris and myself to please continue this subway rosary,” said Reyes.
Over the years, as trains rushed by and the city changed, the rosary group has remained.
“You know, we’ve given out a lot of rosaries along the way,” said rosary prayer group member, Virginia Hill.
They even picked up some new members along the way, some temporary.
“I remember one time one of the police officers came over to me and said, ‘you know, would you pray for my father? He’s in the hospital.’ And she stayed and said a decade with us as well,” said Hill.
Some felt called to come back.
“One day I was coming out of the train station and I saw a group praying the rosary and I was so touched and inspired. I said, Oh, I got to come back,” said rosary prayer group member, Patrick LeBlanc.
No matter what the reason for their prayers, “you pray for peace, you pray for the sick,” said Reyes. The message has stayed the same.
“I really think it’s a way of telling people, you know, there are people, people of faith in this city,” said Hill.
You can join the rosary group, just enter the Grand Central Terminal through the Lexington Avenue side, they will be near the subway entrance around 5:45 pm.
You can also meet the group at the Church of St. Agnes on 43rd Street, they will meet after the 5:10 pm mass and walk to Grand Central together.