Beatrice Petschauer was crowned the 2014 Rose Queen during the annual Shower of Roses celebration in Nesquehoning Sunday.

The Shower of Roses was held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the New Columbus section of the borough, a church that was closed during a consolidation of churches by the Allentown Catholic Diocese. The festival was sponsored by St. Francis of Assisi Church in Nesquehoning.The celebration, started in 1932 by the late Monsignor Agnello J. Angelini, is held to honor St. Therese of Lisieux, France, commonly known as "The Little Flower of Jesus."Petschauer was crowned queen during a Mass held in the church, which was attended by a standing room only crowd.She is the daughter of Rudy and Rose Petschauer of Nesquehoning. Her family moved here from Brooklyn when Beatrice was in kindergarten.The Rose Queen is a freshman at Marian Catholic High School, where she plays junior varsity volleyball and is a member of the drama club.She was crowned by 2013 Rose Queen Michaela Susko.The Rose Princess this year is Grace Ann Williams.The children's court consisted of Maisie Petschauer, Esme Petschauer, Autumn Steibler, Gabriella Greek, Kortney Pilla, Julia Planutis and Ryli Jane McGorry.The Mass was conducted by Monsignor David James of the Allentown Catholic Diocese.Also present was seminarian Daniel Lisella of Nesquehoning.A focal point of the Shower of Roses is the Grotto Shrine next to the church, which is adorned with roses and has a statue of St. Therese.The monsignor said that when the shrine was established it was done for a three-fold purpose: to restore the faith, continue the long-standing devotion to St. Therese, and make it a prayer for vocation. He said of the latter that St. Therese's vocation was to love and serve the Lord.He said St. Therese was inspiring to him "from the age of 3 when I first encountered her by a picture on the wall in my Aunt Sarah's apartment" to his priesthood.He said her vocation was to be a missionary, but she was restrained due to health problems. Her vocation also was to be a priest, "but that was kept from her because of male priesthood.""If we wish to honor St. Therese ... may we not see the roses that fall upon us from her not as tokens," but as inspiration.He said those roses from St. Therese are in the form of daily blessings.Amy DePue was the vocalist for the service.The festival has lower attendance this year than in years past. Organizers said it might be because of the weather. Skies were mostly cloudy and temperatures were chilly.A parade featuring the Rose Queen and her court followed the mass through the streets of New Columbus. In it was a band comprised of students from Marian Catholic High School, Panther Valley High School, and Our Lady of the Angels Academy. Also marching were a contingent of Knights of Columbus members as well as about 100 people who followed.The Rose Queen and Rose Princess rode in a specially decorated wagon, adorned with scores of roses.The finale occurred when a helicopter flew overhead and dropped dozens of roses from it, which served as souvenirs for those fortunate enough to grab one.Mary Lacy of Carbondale said, "This is my first year here and it's a beautiful event. I look forward to returning next year. What a wonderful tribute to The Little Flower of Jesus."Mark Zlotnik of Horsham said the Grotto Shrine was built by his grandmother's brother, Placido Guido Larizzio, in 1945."I love it," he said of the festival. "I recall when there were a lot more people here. The first one I attended was in 1965."At one time, as many as 70 busloads of people converged on the Little Italy section of the borough for the event."It's a nice tradition," said Barbara Zlotnik, Mark's wife. "I think this is a quaint little town, it's scenic. I enjoy coming here."