Rosary Guild: Ensuring The Faithful Around The World May Embrace This Essential Devotion

Continue to pray the Rosary every day” — this was the direction “given to young Lucia by our Blessed Mother, when she appeared in Fatima, Portugal. However, this is truly a direction given to all of the faithful. Through the Rosary, we have such a powerful opportunity to draw closer to Jesus through Mary’s intercession.

Unfortunately, there are people all over the world who have no access to a rosary. So, a group here at Holy Family Cathedral began in February to help fill that essential spiritual need for the faithful across the globe.

David and Anita Thomer and Grand Knight William Ryan agreed they wanted to do more to share their love for the Rosary with parishioners and eventually, those served by missionaries from around the world. Thus began the Rosary Guild.

“The Rosary Guild is a group of people who meet for the spiritual growth of members through making rosaries and praying the Rosary with the intention of spreading devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” David says.

Rosary supplies are purchased from Our Lady’s Rosary Makers, a mission started by Xaverian Brother Sylvan Mattingly, C.F.X. in 1949 in the Archdiocese of Louisville. This is the world’s leading place for spreading the Rosary to missionaries — they not only ship rosary-making supplies, they connect those making rosaries with missionaries in need.

Eventually, the group wants to make enough of the string and bead rosaries to donate to missionaries to distribute. Rosaries are made when the group meets every other Sunday after Mass or at home.

Donating rosaries to missions is important as some people, throughout the world, can’t afford to buy them, and they aren’t able to make them. Missionaries are always in need of more rosaries to spread Mary’s message. David says making the rosaries also blesses the ones making them.

“This is such a good way to spread devotion to the Blessed Mother,” David says.

In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the growth of this group, which is currently about five members. David asks for parishioner’s prayers as the pandemic has slowed progress for the new group.

If you would like more information about the Rosary Guild, please contact David Thomer at dthomer@boscoschool.org. And, as we navigate the ongoing changes brought into our lives by the COVID-19 pandemic, may we faithfully continue to pray the Rosary, drawing closer to Jesus through His mother. To learn more about praying the Rosary, please visit www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/rosaries/how-to-pray-the-rosary