Rosaries will be distributed at the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen in September
Chase Neal sat next to his mother, Jamie, at a cafeteria table at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in St. Charles. The 15-year-old St. Dominic High School sophomore carefully strung one yellow oval bead after another onto white cord.
“The barrel knots are the hardest,” Chase said.
It’s true — the barrel knots take some practice, wrapping the thin cord diagonally around a narrow, rectangular “rosary tool” one way, then back over the other direction, slipping the end underneath, pulling it through and tightening the loops in a neat row.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s how you know it was made by a real person.
The Neals were among hundreds of parishioners around the Archdiocese of St. Louis — and the nation — who are joining the effort to make 75,000 World Mission Rosaries ahead of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification.
Archbishop Sheen, remembered as an influential and innovative evangelist who spread the Gospel through radio, print and television, will be beatified Sept. 24 at the Dome at America’s Center in Downtown St. Louis. He designed the World Mission Rosary in 1951 while serving as national director for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies that support efforts to spread the Gospel throughout the world.
The World Mission Rosary has different-colored decades to represent five different regions of the globe: yellow for Asia, red for the Americas, white for Europe, blue for Oceania and green for Africa. The colored beads guide the faithful to “circumnavigate the globe” in prayer for the success of the Church’s missionary efforts and the people served in each region.
“Peace will come when the hearts of the world have changed,” Archbishop Sheen said in a 1951 address. “To do this we must pray, and not for ourselves but for the world. The world means everyone, our enemies and our next-door neighbors.”
The Pontifical Mission Societies issued the call for rosaries this spring, asking for help in making tens of thousands of them to distribute to all who will gather in St. Louis at the beatification. The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Peoria, Illinois, are coordinating the blessing of the rosaries before the beatification.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis Mission Office organized the local effort, with 10,200 rosaries pledged from the archdiocese as of early August, Mission Office director Kim Specht said.
Paula Wagner, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo, heard about the World Mission Rosary project while attending an event at the Old Ferdinand Shrine hosted by the Mission Office. Her Bible study could make maybe 25, she thought first. Then, she considered: What if we made a flyer and invited anyone who wanted to learn?
“I’m crafty, I can make rosaries, but it wasn’t until we met with Kim that I learned that Fulton Sheen designed this particular rosary 75 years ago,” Wagner said. “I’m a convert — I wasn’t familiar with Fulton Sheen, I just knew his name. So then I started watching his videos, which are so relevant to today, and reading more about him. We’re planning to attend his beatification, so it’s just special to be part of this.”
Wagner has been moved by how relatable and down-to-earth Archbishop Sheen’s teachings are, she said. She also was impressed to learn about his work with the missions and his own generosity in contributing to them.
“He’s not from 1,500 years ago. He’s a saint of our days,” she said. “Our grandparents and our parents know him, and each day I just learn a little bit more.”
Dozens of people showed up at St. Charles Borromeo ready to help on July 16, spread out over five hourlong sessions. Several people were trained on proper rosary-making techniques before the day and were stationed among the tables to guide novices.
Anne Porter, a parishioner at Ste. Genevieve du Bois in Warson Woods, had already been making some rosaries at home before joining the group effort at St. Charles Borromeo. Porter’s father, who died 13 years ago, was a big fan of Archbishop Sheen, she said.
“I thought, ‘my dad would be so excited by the fact that he’s getting this honor,’” she said as she strung green beads onto the cord. “So, I can do this.”
Charles Borromeo.
Individuals around the archdiocese are contributing to the rosary-making blitz at home, too. Grace Malinee, a parishioner at St. Patrick in Wentzville, saw the call for rosaries in the Salt + Light St. Louis Young Adults newsletter and thought it would be a good way to offer her love of crafting in service.
She had started making some of her own rosaries earlier in the year using a chain-link method, so the knotting technique took a bit of practice. The more she did, the quicker she got, allowing it to be a meditative practice in itself, she said.
“If I have certain intentions, I pray for them while making rosaries,” she said. “And then it’s prayers that whoever gets the rosary, it can be a source of grace for them.”
Malinee also started listening to Archbishop Sheen’s talks and clips from his show, “Life is Worth Living,” while working on the rosaries.
“I had this impression of him before listening to a lot of his stuff, that maybe he was a little more complex theologically and is going to take a lot of concentration,” she said. “But I’ve been pleased with how relatable, understandable and how clear he is in his teaching.”
Malinee planned to make at least 250 rosaries before the deadline and was looking forward to attending the beatification in September.
“Knowing that I’m making them for a specific purpose where they will indeed get used is really nice, and knowing that there’s a lot of other people joining in on this is very cool as well,” she said. “It just feels historic to be doing it for Fulton Sheen’s beatification, so it feels like a way of being able to participate, even though it’s small.”
What do the colors of the World Mission Rosary mean?
Each decade of the World Mission Rosary is a different color, representing a region of the world.
Yellow: Asia, where the light of the sun first rises each day
Red: the Americas, where missionaries set out “on fire” with faith in Jesus
White: Europe, home of the pope, who wears white
Blue: Oceania, where the islands of the Pacific are surrounded by vast ocean waters
Green: Africa, with its lush trees and plants
Help Make World Mission Rosaries
The Archdiocese of St. Louis Mission Office makes World Mission Rosaries on an ongoing basis to share with a variety of groups. If you would like to help, contact Mission Office Director Kim Specht at (314) 792-7664 or kimspecht@archstl.org.
