Dear Members and friends:
I, Paul Anthony Crimi, was elected the new President of the Madonna Del Paradiso Society on January 23rd 2009. It is both an honor and a privilege to take upon this new task. My wife Giustina and I have considered running for this office for some time, but the struggles of life and raising our children have always been and still remain our first priority. With my daughter away at college and my son in high school, we are now able to devote more time to our patron saint. When my parents Cosmo and Mary Crimi moved to San Diego in 1970, the Our Lady of the Rosary Parish became our focal point every Sunday, a day of devotion and an introduction to the Italian community. Back then it seemed a simpler time, where I made new friends and my parents caught up with old ones. However life changes and over the years I have seen the churches parishioners grow, while the generation I grew up with here distanced themselves for various reasons. I encourage all of you to take a journey back in time, when society allowed us as children to play outside freely, unlike today where parents are compelled to involve there children in supervised after school activities. Please take a moment to tell your family and friends of the changes that have been made with the society and make this an opportunity to reacquaint yourselves as parishioners.
On Monday January 12th 2009, all of the Presidents of the Marian Societies in collaboration with the pastor decided to unite and show one sign of solidarity. Therefore, this unification will be celebrated on October 4th during the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. Mass will be held at Amici Park and we will walk in one single procession with all the Madonnas to the Embarcadero (details to be announced). It is my goal with everyone’s help, to try and reenergize interest and membership back to our patron saint and her society. The focus this year and in the future will be our children, as we will involve them in all aspects of the Mass and feast. The Madonna Del Paradiso Mass will still be held and this year it will be November 15th at 10:30am. We are looking into organizing an annual family dinner dance, at which time a new queen will be crowned. We want to create an information only web site of the Madonna, including her history from the early 18th century to the present day and the society here in San Diego founded in 1960 by a group of Mazaresi. We welcome all Catholics to join us this year for a few days of prayer and devotion. Our next society meeting will be held on September 25th at 7pm in the Parish Hall downstairs and all are welcome. I encourage everyone to join and participate in truly making this a year of change and hope. Let’s keep the tradition alive and hand it down to our children and generations to come. I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. Take care and God bless.
Sincerely,
Paul A. Crimi
President, Madonna Del Paradiso Society S. D.
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