We received a lovely email from the Children's Rosary group in the Archdiocese of Armagh, Northern Ireland. They began meeting in September 2023. The group leader shared:We started of saying the rosary on the First Friday of each month and then progressed to every Sunday morning as well. Now we say the Rosary before any evening or weekend Mass and sometimes we also hold candlelit rosary prayer services and we occasionally hold wee trips or 'pray, play and eat' sessions.
We have 42 children ranging in age from 4 to 12.
This past week during the Zoom informational session for Ireland and the UK, Leanne O'Callaghan shared a bit more about the group at the Parish of Cill Chluana. She gave some examples of some of the pray, play and eat sessions that have happened with her Children's Rosary group. They have traveled to visit the Armagh Parish Cathedral. Recently there was a historic storm in Northern Ireland that uprooted trees and did extensive damage. The Children's Rosary group met at the Church cemetery and helped stand plants and flowers up as well as tidying up the grounds. They also prayed a rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. They also planned a singing event where the children sang half the concert, and a professional singer sang half of the performance. The event helped raise £2,000 for a new grotto at the Church. The group leader also mentioned that since the Children's Rosary has begun and the children have been leading the rosary before Mass, the attendance has increased considerably. Now people have to get to Mass early to get a seat, and often they are spilling out the door since so many are attending.
The group created a little Facebook page to highlight some of their activities:
https://www.facebook.com/cill.chluana.childrens.rosary/