Young Ralph, the boy priest of Parker Street, celebrates the Catholic Mass with some local hoodlums. What a photo! There's Ralph, serious, devoted, with the "Bowery Boys" to his left: Peter Macceroli, Johnny Dynan, Albie Napoli (praying fervently) and Johnny Pisano. It's hard to tell what the two girls make of this scene.
I found over a dozen shots of Fr. Ralph in the archives, administering to the neighborhood kids and performing a personal religious ceremony for his grandparents. (Wanna see more? Wait for the book, you cheapskates!)
I must tell you, this is no joke. Ralph is as devout now as he ever was. Only, instead of a cassock, today he wears some nice threads he got from his Hong Kong style guru, the Manhattan Tailor!
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