We received these lovely pictures today from the Children's Rosary group in Fulda, Germany. They participated in the Corpus Christi Procession on Thursday June 19 from the Church "Rabanus-Maurus-Kirche".
The Children's Rosary® is a prayer group movement that was begun out of love for Our Lady and Her Son. Jesus tells us "Truly, I say to you unless you turn and become like children you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3). The Children's Rosary is an effort to begin in parishes rosary prayer groups composed of children and led by children. Through prayer of the Rosary Our Lady will guide our young people while at the same time sanctify families and Parishes.
Monday, July 7, 2025
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Heights of the Hills
Dear Friends,
As many of you may know Asher Kaufman, age 18, left on June 28 for a year-long trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He is spending July in the French Alps at La Salette Shrine. Primarily he is assigned to volunteering at their welcome desk but he has also been helping in the housekeeping section of the Shrine making beds and in the kitchen washing dishes. After making 50 beds his first day, he happily reported he knows how to make a hospital corner properly.
As La Salette is a pilgrimage site he has had the opportunity to meet many pilgrims and priests and share with them about the Children's Rosary. After six days of work volunteers at the Shrine are given a day off. Each day there is an excursion to various villages in the region. Only those on a day off can travel to the excursion. Last Friday Asher went on one of these excursions.
The village was on the mountain next to the shrine but on the far side of the mountain. As the crow flies, it was 14 kms but it took them 1 hour by car to arrive there. As they approached the village they saw a group of people walking with some purpose across a field.
At first they thought they might be looking for something and one person joked that they were looking for gold. But once Asher arrived, he did speak with this group and found out they were botanists from Grenoble taking plant samples from the mountain.
This small village had a swift moving river running through it. The views are beautiful and give glory to God for all He has made. "In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also" (Psalm 95:4).
Please keep Asher and this trip in your prayers. May it be fruitful.
Thank you,
Blythe
Friday, July 4, 2025
Arrival at La Salette Shrine, France
Dear Friends,
In September of 1846, in the mountains of southeastern France, two peasant children from the village of Corps named Maximin and Melanie were pasturing their sheep one day when a "Beautiful Lady" appeared to them. At first, they just saw the lady sitting on the mountainside, sitting on a rock, crying with her head in her hands. She had a crown of roses and a white headdress on her head and a golden chain about her neck. There was on her chest a crucifix with pincers on one side and a hammer on the other. She wore a golden apron and a white dress. The children recounted that the chain around her neck seemed heavy and pulled down her shoulders. They were at first quite frightened, but then the lady rose and spoke to them.
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Children's Rosary Procession in Dormitz, Germany
The Children's Rosary group leaders from Dormitz, Germany shared this report from their May Children's Rosary meeting where they held a procession.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Remembering Rev. Sr. Gloria Okoye, OP
On June 24, 2025 Sr. Gloria Okoye, OP passed away after a long illness. She was 43 years old. She has been a great friend to the Children's Rosary. She is shown above receiving rosaries we sent her on the left. We received this note from Fr. Paul Miapkwap:
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
The Journey to La Salette Shrine in France Continues with Some Bumps
Dear Friends,
This post is a follow up to yesterdays post. Asher, age 18, has set out for a one year trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. The journey began on June 28 when he left West Hartford, Connecticut for Paris. The story picks up on June 30. Please note that Asher loves history so his dispatches are rich with historical detail. As one will see what began with a lovely visit of Paris in the morning turns a bit terrifying. Please see the end of the post for a full explanation.
Monday, June 30, 2025
A Year-Long Journey Begins
Dear Friends,
On Saturday June 28, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our eighteen year old son, Asher, departed from Bradley International Airport for France. This begins a gap year which will include missionary efforts to spread the Children's Rosary and experience more cultures and languages. The first stop will be a month volunteering at La Salette Shrine in the Alps of France. As he will not be home for a year, packing was an involved process. After the essentials were placed in the two checked bags and one carry on bag, then the rest of the space was backfilled with Children's Rosary T shirts in French and Portuguese along with Children's Rosary books and handmade rosaries. Although his itinerary is still very much in flux, his time will be spent in Europe and Africa. As we just celebrated the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul yesterday, the priest at Mass spoke extensively about the sacrifices and trials Paul endured to further his missionary activities. We are told in Scripture about Paul,
"Three times I was beaten with rods, once was I stoned; three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day in the deep. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits... in danger in the country, in danger at sea" (2 Corinthians 25-26).
Thus we know that to follow Christ there will be trials but I humbly ask for prayers for Asher. We have often traveled together promoting the Children's Rosary but this time he will be on his own. He travels alone but always united in prayer. We will be chronicling his journey on the blog so stay tuned to updates. I will be providing updates and Asher will also be sending dispatches from the road sharing his personal experiences. Asher has a love of history so also expect a fair amount of history to be peppered through his reports when he visits a new place.
Please see his journey as a fruit of the Children's Rosary. For Asher was only four when the Children's Rosary began and has been very much a part of this during most of his life.
He has participated through prayer and also helping to send materials around the world. Not only has he helped to send rosaries but also statues of Our Blessed Mother as is shown below. He is with his older brother in the picture below.
As he grew he has had a chance to visit groups in various places around the globe.
This most recent trip will take him to French and Portuguese speaking countries in Europe and Africa and will conclude with time in Italy. He has applied to the seminary through our Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut and plans to enter when he returns. Please also keep his vocation in your prayers.
The trip to La Salette Shrine in the Alps of France is a long one. It requires a flight to Paris with a connection through Dublin. Then a train ride to Grenoble, a bus ride to Corps France which is a mountain village and a van ride up into the mountains. As soon as he landed in Paris yesterday, he dropped off his bags at the hotel and made his way to Mass. He went to Saint Louis d'Antin Church. We have a friend who is a priest there named Fr. Haby. We visited him last summer and he has helped with arranging for a place for Asher to stay in Paris after his time in La Salette. It had been my hope to write to him to coordinate a meeting during Asher's brief time in Paris as he passed through to La Salette. However, due to our preparations for the trip the email never happened. Asher had made no plans to meet yet just as he entered the Church there was Fr. Haby processing down the aisle as Mass was ending. This Church is next to the train station and has many Mass and a very large number of priests in residence helping with all the Masses. The chances that Fr. Haby would be there just as he entered was by the grace of God. It is beautiful to see how Our Lord makes up for our failings and shortcomings. We always hope to arrange everything perfectly but so often this does not happen. Praise God for His grace and attention to the tiniest detail. Asher had arrived early for the next Mass and Fr. Haby had just finished celebrating the prior Mass. The two friends had time to exchange greetings.
Asher has written his first dispatch from his one evening in Paris before the morning train to Grenoble, France.
Afterwards, I continued towards Place de la Concorde; you can see the Egyptian obelisk in the picture which is in the middle of the square. It was a gift from the King of Egypt to Louis Philippe in 1836 and erected there. You can also see the meeting place of the National Assembly of France, whose façade mirrors that of the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene; it was originally called the Palais Bourbon before the Revolution. The square was renamed Place de la Revolution during the French Revolution, and it was the site of the executions of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette; the Directory government renamed it Place de la Concorde in 1795.
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Children's Rosary Featured on EWTN's Vaticano
Friday, June 27, 2025
Global Rosary Relay for Priests 2025
Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and it is also the World Day of Prayer for Priests. Consider participating in the Global Rosary Relay for Priests today. Unite with a Shrine to pray the Rosary for the sanctification of priests. If we want holy priests we need to pray for them. Here is a link to the participating locations. Click on the dot to see when they are praying.
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Children's Rosary at Our Lady of Peace Primary School, Paisley, Scotland
The photo above was submitted by the Children's Rosary group leader from Our Lady of Peace Primary School in the Paisley Diocese of Scotland. One of the classes at the school has a Children's Rosary. They led the Rosary and served in leadership roles in the end of the school year Mass held at the school May 27 and 28.
The children's prayers of the Rosary were very strong, and there were many positive comments made about their prayers. They hope to expand the Children's Rosary to include two classes next year.
Thursday, June 19, 2025
"The Children are Returning and Bringing Friends"
We recently received this update from the Children's Rosary in Grand Island, NY. "We had our third Children’s Rosary at St. Stephen’s Church on Grand Island, NY on May 28th the eve of the Ascension. The children are returning and bringing friends! We are looking forward to our next event!"