Opening the New Exhibit at the Knights of Columbus Museum in Prayer

On November 21st, members of the Children's Rosary came together in prayer to open the new Knights of Columbus Crèche exhibit.  The exhibit was held at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Connecticut.  

Eleven children came together to hold a Children's Rosary.  They knelt before a Nativity in prayer.  The children took turns standing to lead the prayers and some of the smaller children placed roses at the end of each decade before the manger scene.  The crèche the children prayed before is part of the permanent collection at the Knights of Columbus Museum and was sculpted by a Mexican artist, Agustin Parra.  It was made by the same artist that crafted a nativity as a gift from the Jalisco government to Pope Benedict XVI.  One of the families that attended the Children's Rosary is Mexican so this was very special for them to pray before a Mexican nativity.  

During the Children's Rosary the children prayed in a special way for the Knights of Columbus, all the members of the Children's Rosary and also the intentions of Our Blessed Mother.  The date of the Rosary was very special as it was not only the opening of the crèche exhibit but also the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  In this way, the day was extra special as their prayers were a small gift they could give to their Heavenly Mother on her Feast.  

The children concluded the Rosary by singing our theme song: Rosary Children.  Some of the staff commented that it was beautiful to hear the voices of the children singing filling the museum.

After the Rosary, the children had some small treats and juice and enjoyed spending time with their friends.  There was then several hours for exploring the exhibit and the permanent collections within the Museum.  There are so many wonderful pieces present in the Museum it is difficult to see everything on one trip alone.  

One of the pieces that drew the children was a special Polish nativity called a szopka that had been given to Pope John Paul II during his life.  The nativity depicted the Holy Father kneeling in front of the szopka.  When John Paul received the gift from the artist it had been a very long day. He stroked the small statue of himself depicted in prayer and said softly "poor pope". 

It was beautiful for the children to see this special nativity which was given to John Paul II and also a picture above the nativity of John Paul himself receiving it. 

Seeing the many handmade crèches from Eastern Europe and all the different ways people have paid honor to the birth of Our Lord, it was a very special way for us to prepare ourselves for Christmas. 


After the children and their families had explored some of the museum several of the children came together before a beautiful picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  They knelt down and said a prayer for the Knights of Columbus.  We all were very grateful to the Knights for such a beautiful invitation to come and open their exhibit in prayer.  

Other Posts You May Enjoy:
How to Start a Children's Rosary
Children's Rosary Books, CDs and DVDs
EWTN Interview About the Children's Rosary