Easter Bunny Visits Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The Easter Bunny came to visit the Sisters at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent on Holy Saturday. 

Sal Stingo, a member of the Holy Name Society, has been dressing up in a bunny costume and handing out candy to Sisters for 49 years. 

They originally started off by bringing candy baskets to children in rehab nursing at St. Charles Hospital in the 1970s. 

“And then from there, the next year, they decided to get costumes,” said Sal. “[They] started bringing more, and there were more kids, and then it turned into alternatives for children, and it just snowballed.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Holy Name Society had “around a thousand kids and a thousand adults in nursing homes that [they] were visiting.”

They continued visiting when they could, and still keep the tradition alive today. 

“A lot of the members are gone or moved away,” said Sal. “But we still have a few.”

Sal, who was accompanied by his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, went around the community room at OLPH and greeted each Sister. Candy was also handed out to everyone. 

The Holy Name Society is a group of parish members who are dedicated to helping their community. 

“For over forty-five years, the HNS, with the support of other parish and local organizations, has annually undertaken an Easter Bunny Project to bring a touch of Easter joy in the form of small gifts, entertainment and companionship to elderly religious and laity, and to handicapped children in a number of facilities throughout Suffolk County,” stated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church.