Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Celebrate St. Rocco At Parade In Chinatown And Bridgeport Sunday

By Joe Ward | August 11, 2017 5:34am
 The St. Rocco Society will hold its annual parade and celebration at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Therese Church.
The St. Rocco Society will hold its annual parade and celebration at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at St. Therese Church.
View Full Caption
St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church

CHINATOWN — The annual St. Rocco Parade will once again wind through the streets of Chinatown and Bridgeport Sunday.

The Procession and Feast of St. Rocco has been held since 1920 by the Society of San Rocco Di Simbario at St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church, 218 W. Alexander St., in Chinatown. This year's procession will begin after 10:30 a.m. Mass, or approximately 11:30 a.m. Sunday outside the church.

In the parade, members of the Society of San Rocco, as well as church parishioners and neighbors, walk the streets near the church holding a large statue of the Catholic Patron Saint of Pestilence. Parade participants set off firecrackers and other fireworks along the parade route. 

A benediction takes place at St. Therese after the parade, and participants share in a community meal, according to the church.

The local society and procession for St. Rocco was started by Bruno Bertucci, who owned a grocery store at the corner of 24th Street and Princeton Avenue.