The Friday Night Oratory: A Beautiful Salesian Family Effort

By Fr. Eddie Chincha, SDB, CYM, St. John Bosco Parish

(Port Chester, N.Y. – October 22) – I often heard it said that convincing kids to pray the Rosary on a Friday night is impossible, especially if they have not gone to Catholic school, where they had the chance to learn this beautiful prayer. However, I feel we shouldn’t give up on young people so quickly.

Every Friday night oratory, St. John Bosco Parish’s middle school kids gather for some games, snacks, and a moment of prayer. They were very open to learning to pray the Rosary and to spend at least 20 minutes praying it together as group.

Our oratory is a beautiful Salesian Family effort, which brings SDBs, FMAs, and Salesian Cooperators together. I imagine this is a little bit of the atmosphere that Don Bosco lived with his boys in the wandering oratory. And our kids here in Port Chester are getting a little piece of what Don Bosco’s boys experienced, too.