'Block Rosary' A Chance For Filipino Catholics To Enjoy Prayer, Food, Fellowship

With a wide smile, Dr. Portia Domingo explained that Filipino Catholics really enjoy two things: praying and eating. That’s what led Portia and her husband, Dr. Mike Domingo, to invite their Filipino Catholic friends into their home back in 1997 for a rosary followed by a meal of traditional Filipino dishes.

From that evening, sixteen years ago, a tradition was born. Today the Filipino Catholic community in the Diocese of Evansville is still gathering once a month in someone’s home for a rosary followed by a potluck feast and an evening of fellowship.

“We were always getting together and talking and eating, talking and eating,” explained Portia. “So I said, ‘Why don’t we also say a little prayer and say thank you for all the blessings we have?’”

 At the time, there were five families that got together frequently, so they decided to take turns hosting a rosary and meal at the start of each month.

“We started it, and it has just kept going,” Portia said.

Today this “block rosary” (as those who attend now refer to it) has expanded to include many additional people, including the children and grandchildren of the original families and a few non-Filipinos. It’s not uncommon for 40 families to come together in one home, including many who travel from other towns to join in the prayer and celebration. Sometimes the monthly gathering is held in Evansville, and at other times it takes place in another Tri-State community, such as Henderson, Ky., or Vincennes.

Yet each January the block rosary is always back where it began – at the northside Evansville home of the Domingos. On Sunday, Jan. 8, Bishop Charles C. Thompson attended the rosary, becoming the first bishop to come to one of the gatherings.

After participating in the rosary, Bishop Thompson addressed the group, expressing how important it is for all Catholics to “share and celebrate the uniqueness and the richness of all the cultural traditions and unique gifts within our Catholic identity and Catholic faith.”

“We don’t always recognize and appreciate in our Church the multiple cultures that are represented and the universality of the Church,” the Bishop said.

Once Bishop Thompson concluded his remarks, he led the group into the kitchen to begin a veritable feast of homemade Filipino entrees and desserts. For many, the monthly meal represents a rare chance to enjoy their native foods in a comfortable, communal setting that is rich with joy and fellowship.

PeeWee and Chosie Vasquez have ben attending the gatherings with their sons, Paolo and Mico, since they moved to the diocese from the Philippines more than four years ago. PeeWee says the block rosary represents a chance to enhance his faith and pray with his friends who live in the Tri-State. 

“We’re busy with work and other activities, so we do not see our friends and countrymen that often, so this also is a chance meet and get updated with each other,” PeeWee explained. “I enjoy seeing more people getting involved, not only my fellow Filipinos, but also the Americans who share the same faith with us.”