The 2025 Rose Queen was crowned Sunday at the 93rd Annual Shower of Roses Festival held at the Diocesan Shrine of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in the New Columbus section of Nesquehoning.

Giavanna Larry was crowned Rose Queen by the Rev. Eric Gruber, rector of the Shrine of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and Pastor of St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley, during the solemn Mass celebrated to commemorate the Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and the Shower of Roses.

The queen’s court also includes October Drumheller, Paige Larry, Emerald Drumheller, Sarah Larry, and Amelia Degler, the 2024 Rose Queen.

The Shower of Roses was started in 1932 by Monsignor Angnello J. Angelini, who was pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, New Columbus.

In the early days, the Rose Queen would board a helicopter and drop roses from the aircraft in the area. People arrived by the thousands, busloads of pilgrims, to the shrine. These days, roses are handed out to those attending the festival.

Father Gruber spoke about the sufferings that Therese dealt with in her daily life.

“The majority of our days are filled with little sacrifices,” the Rev. Gruber said. “She called them ‘rose petals’. All the sacrifices that love entails. Learning to live with it and trusting God. Part of her suffering was trying to be loving when she didn’t feel like loving.”

The Shower of Roses is held near Oct. 1, the Feast Day of St. Thérèse.

St Thérèse was quoted, “I will send down a shower of roses the heavens; I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth.”

The idea, or the belief, is that you’ll receive a rose as a gift from St. Therese and you’ll know that your prayers were heard.

“She dedicated herself to Christ,” Gruber explained. “She experienced in her heart of hearts the call to put her whole life into His arms, and let Him use her in any way that He would see fit.”

Following the Mass was Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, recitation of the Rosary, Benediction, and the Prayer of the Novena of St. Therese.

The festival included a spaghetti dinner and food sales in Madonna Hall, located behind the shrine.

The shrine is located in the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church at the corner of Garibaldi and Venice Avenues. In 1988, Venice Avenue was renamed Angelini Avenue in honor of Monsignor Angelini.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish was included in the consolidation of several churches in 2008 to St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was named the Diocesan Shrine of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

The grotto next to the church was built by a local coal miner, Placidio Guido LaRizzio, and was dedicated Oct. 15, 1945 to the memory of all service men and women who died in World War II and in thanksgiving memento for the safe return home of members of the parish and all fellow servicemen.

The grotto was approved by the National Register of Historic Places and identified as a structure important to America’s history.