Easter Paraders, Thousands of Worshippers, and a Few Protestors at St. Patrick’s

There were several thousand worshippers inside, a throng of people on Fifth Avenue outside showing off their zany bonnets, and a handful of protesters at the annual Easter Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

”Welcome to America’s parish church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral—for those who could not make it to Rome or Jerusalem,” said Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who delivered a Mass with all the pageantry and incense and still managed to wrap it up in its alloted one hour, which surely kept WPIX-11 happy since it was doing a live broadcast.

Outside the cathedral, it was wall-to-wall people for the annual Easter Parade, which is not so much a parade as a promenade of people in elaborate and zany Easter bonnets and costumes that draws camera crews while fans capture the outfits and pose for selfies with the designers.

The Easter parade traces its roots to post-Civil War New York, when society ladies in their Easter finery would stroll down Fifth Avenue with their families to show off their new clothes, particularly their Easter bonnets.

Today the bonnets and accompanying outfits are colorful displays that people can often spend days constructing. People come from across the city, the country, and indeed the world.

Kornelia Marchewha was from Poland but has been living in New York for the past three years and makes it a point to head to the Easter parade with a proper Easter outfit. This year, she spent about 21 hours building a multi-flowered vest and decorating a sun hat. “I like Easter time and all the costumes,” she said, as a throng of passersby pressed her to pose for selfies.

”We’ve been [in NYC] since Thursday,” said first-time parader Raymond Rainey, who flew in from Alabama and dressed in a Southern Gentleman’s seersucker suit and straw hat, while goddaughter Gracie Taylor dressed as a Southern belle in a sundress and bonnet.

“I went to Mass last night in Maplewood, New Jersey, so I could come to the city for this,” said Jane Myra Jubilee, decked out in a bonnet with pink roses and a pink outfit that took her two days to build. “It’s a great way to celebrate Resurrection Day.”

Style collaborator Patricia Fox and Howard Chezar came from the Upper West Side on 72nd and Central Park West. He was wearing a multicolored sports jacket and a tie bedecked with flowers. She had a patchwork-quilt dress and an elaborate hat. “The foundation is actually an upside-down dog’s bed,” she said. “My dog didn’t like it so I used it as the foundation for my hat.” She said it took about 35 hours to make the full outfits. A TV camera crew pulled Fox and Chezar aside for an interview, just as Fox finished twirling. “Happy Easter, everyone!” she called out.

Claudia Quintana journeyed in from East Hampton for her fifth Easter Parade with a bonnet that resembled a huge Fabergé egg. While it took about five hours to make the egg, last year was more of a challenge: a bonnet with a fountain that featured running water. This year’s featured a rabbit on a motorized scooter twirling about the egg.

There were more camera crews outside than inside, where WPIX-11 had a huge boom with a swiveling overhead camera set up near the foot of the cathedral altar. The press was confined to a fairly small enclosure and an aide to Dolan blocked one member of the press from leaving the enclosure to get a better picture of the cardinal (okay, it was this reporter).

And because it is New York, the Easter Parade also attracted a small handful of protesters.

Mary Yelenick held up a hand-drawn sign that read: “Easter Mourn: The Holy Land Is Dying.”

“The United States is funding genocide in Gaza,” she said. Several other protesters held up signs that read: “Our Church’s Silence Enables Genocide” and “Free Free Palestine.”

Cardinal Dolan, who usually greets the grand marshals of the more traditional parades as they pass the cathedral, did not venture onto the steps to greet the Easter Parade rabble, who filled the street and steps right up to the huge bronze doors.

One of the more popular paraders was Anthony Rubio, who appeared in an all-white suit and a white top hat bedecked with white flowers while he carried his trusted chihuahua, Kimba. He said it took him about two weeks to make both outfits. “Every one of the sequins [in Kimba’s outfit] is hand sewn,” he said.

He said he comes every year with a new outfit. “It’s Easter, it’s a day of joy. The way the world is now, we need smiles,” he said, “and it’s working!”