April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
ST. MICHAEL'S, COHOES
Rosary Society hits century mark
The parish's Rosary Society, which celebrates its 100th anniversary Oct. 21 with a Mass and banquet, has always been restricted to women and probably won't change its rule anytime soon.
That old-school feeling pervades everything the Rosary Society does and has contributed to its success as a spiritual, fundraising and service group that leaves its mark on generations of women.
"I met a lot of people there and it was a good social thing," noted (Jadwiga) Lucy Chaszczewski Stackrow, 98, Mr. Stackrow's mother.
She joined what was originally a strictly Polish group at age 22, following her own mother, one of the earliest members.
Pre-TV pastime
Television didn't arrive in homes until Mr. Stackrow was 12, so the society was an important outlet, he said: "That was where everybody hung out."
Through her membership, Mrs. Stackrow developed a lifelong loyalty to praying the Rosary. "I come in at times and she might be asleep and still have the rosary in her hands," her son attested.
Mrs. Stackrow recalls a life of socializing, event planning, acting as a "head lady" for the society for half a century and baking what her son calls "legendary" golombki (cabbage rolls) and cakes.
Over the years, St. Michael's Rosary Society covered expenses for the church building and the former parish school, even pitching in for gas and tolls for the Sisters of the Resurrection who staffed the school for decades.
The society also sent money to Poland, Africa, local Catholic nursing homes and elsewhere. Members still run a weekly bingo game that brings in $20,000 a year for the parish, as well as annual penny socials, bazaars and communion breakfasts. They also sponsor the parish's annual giving tree for St. Catherine's Center for Children in Albany.
Keeping busy
Rosary Society members decorate the church altar for holidays and make altar cloths of Polish materials. They provide gifts for children making their First Communion, visit society members in nursing homes and attend their wakes and funerals to pray the Rosary and stand honor guard "so that their [deceased] members pass through their midst," said Sister Alexandra Jazwinski, CR, who taught at the parish school in the 1960s and '70s and served as secretary and moderator to the society.
Sister Alexandra recalled religious activities initiated by the group, including First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart, the 40 Hours eucharistic devotion, an annual "living rosary" procession and a Rosary session before every weekend Mass.
"They were very, very strong to their devotion to Mary and their devotion to the Eucharist, and they tried to instill that in their children," Sister Alexandra said.
The Rosary, she added, is "like a prayer to Mary; but, at the same time, it has the whole history of the life of Christ. It's a whole theology, but put in a prayerful manner."
Rev. Richard Dybas, pastor emeritus of St. Michael's, oversaw the Rosary Society for 30 years. He called the group "the spiritual head of the parish: They were always there."
Changes over years
Today, the society is open to all nationalities, and women of all marital statuses. Membership stands between 160 and 200. The society is struggling to reach younger women.
"They're not as close as we were," said Jennie (Jane) Korbel, 96, of the current membership. A member for 66 years, she said her mother was a charter member and her aunts and sisters also joined. But today, "schooling and their jobs take them away from this area. There's not a continuing on till your death."
Maria Swieton, the group's president for the past 10 years, is a little more hopeful.
"I think the future will be brighter because now everything is more open" after many parish closings in Cohoes over the years. "It's a beautiful time for us. Today, you see what's going on in the world, how people don't want to go to church. We want to show them that we're still over there - to be the example for young generations to follow their old people's footsteps."
Mrs. Swieton, a Rosarian since her First Communion in Rzeszow, Poland, joined the St. Michael's society after emigrating to the U.S. 32 years ago. She boasted that last year's penny social made a record $9,000.
"I think if more people join, the Church will be stronger and everyone will be happy," she said. "Life is much easier if you have support from Jesus and the Blessed Mother."[[In-content Ad]]
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