CUMBERLAND — Since his installation as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Providence last month, Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., has been on a mission like no other to bring the Gospel to all 1,000 square miles of his new diocese. What’s driving that mission is a heart that wants people of every background, whether it’s high schoolers, those with disabilities or older adults, to know his love and prayers for each one of them.
On Saturday, the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Bishop Lewandowski made that same message known to nearly 100 young adults from all over Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, too. They gathered to meet the Bishop at the shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima behind the church of the same name in Cumberland.
The bishop led the recitation of the joyful mysteries of the Rosary while adding a few words of encouragement before and after. He even told a story about his own rosary that proves that sometimes, you don’t have to reach for the rosary, the rosary might reach out to you instead.
When he was made an Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore a few years ago, Bishop Lewandowski received one of the most special rosaries a person could ever get: the one Pope Francis gave him in Rome. That’s why he was so devastated when he lost it.
“I was searching all over to find it in the place where we were staying, all my luggage,” he said. “I went through all the papers and all the things that we received, couldn’t find it, couldn’t find it. So I was just resigned to the fact that Pope Francis gave me a rosary and I’d be able to tell people about it, but I would never find it.”
“So it came time to leave, and I went through security at the airport, and I was sitting in that waiting area before you board the plane. They were filing everybody in according to their seating arrangements and all. And suddenly, this lady comes running. She’s going, ‘Father, Father, you forgot your rosary. You left it in security.’”
“I have no idea where she found it, but this is the rosary that I got from Pope Francis,” Bishop Lewandowski said as he held up his rosary case. “It’s amazing to me that I lost it, but the rosary found me. And it is that way sometimes that the Lord finds us and the people in our lives bring us God’s grace and blessings.”
In honor of that story, Bishop Lewandowski asked the young adults in attendance to offer up prayers for the soul of Pope Francis as they prayed the rosary together, and for Pope Leo XIV as he started his papacy.
The bishop added that he believes it’s providential that he was asked to lead the rosary on Saturday, as it’s a beloved Marian feast. The Immaculate Heart of Mary celebrates Mary’s unique privileges of being untouched by sin, a daughter to the Father, a mother to the Son, and a spouse to the Holy Spirit.
Bishop Lewandowski added that the last week of June is one of the most beautiful in the liturgical calendar because of the “smorgasbord” of joyous feast days it offers. In particular, the feast of SS. Peter and Paul was on a Sunday this year, meaning it was celebrated with a solemn mass at every church in the Diocese. That happens only once every 5 to 11 years, and Bishop Lewandowski was thrilled that the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, where he now resides, wouldn’t be the only one ringing its bells.
According to Bishop Lewandowski, faith and fellowship curated for young adults is something that is sorely needed in many dioceses today, and that’s certainly on his to-do list for Providence. Luckily, he had a little help from Hannah Kline, who is a young adult herself. She and a few friends work as Youth and Young Adult Consultants under the diocesan Young Adult Evangelization apostolate, and said there are many more events like this one to come.
“I’m just really excited to see so many young adults together,” Kline said as she introduced the bishop. “We are trying to build up the young adult community here in the diocese, so it’s really great to see all of you, and I hope you come back.”
Kline coordinated closely with Our Lady of Fatima Parish to plan the event, which responded by giving a generous spread of cookout food afterward, including some deliciously seasoned chicken, a Portuguese recipe passed down for generations.
Kline said this is just the start of what her office has planned for young adults who are looking for more opportunities to grow in faith and fellowship. They do take a break the month of July, but programming will start back up on August 2 with a cornhole tournament at Mother of Hope Camp in Chepachet.
For more information, visit evangelizeri.org/yae.
