Children's Rosary in Grand Island, New York Celebrates One Year Anniversary

The Children's Rosary in Grand Island, New York celebrated their one year anniversary. The children met for prayers and then celebrated with cupcakes and also worked on a craft for Lent.

The group leader shared that the children are offering up little gifts daily. 

Arrival in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

It has been nearly two months since my last post on the blog, and the reader likely feels that I owe him something in the way of an explanation for this absence. Very well, he will have it. 

On January 11, arrived back in the US from Cameroon. I had not initially planned this stop back home, but it was rendered necessary because of the need to apply for a long stay Schengen visa. My plans involved a protracted period of study in Lisbon in the spring. However, the Lord had other plans, and so it was that my application came back ungranted. After some time of discernment and prayer, I felt quite certain Our Lord wished me to go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I had, during my stay in Yaoundé, met several Congolese brothers who encouraged me to make the trip to Kinshasa because of the great potential for Children’s Rosary groups there. Therefore, I reached out to the contacts I had been given, made arrangements, applied for a visa, and—after a few fits and starts regarding the latter, finally had the visa in hand on Friday, February 20. Within a matter of hours, the flights were scheduled, the airport pickup coordinated, the half-packed bags brought forth and filled with clothing. I would fly out the following Monday. 

However, within a few hours of the booking, it became clear that the flights would need to be delayed. A monster storm system was due to slam the East Coast on Monday, thus rendering any arrivals or departures increasingly unlikely. 

Accordingly, the flights were shifted to Tuesday, and then finally off I went. The flights themselves went off without a hitch, and at 7:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, I got off the plane at Kinshasa N’djili International Airport. 

As the large Air France jet trundled up to the arrivals hall, I soaked in my first sights of the Congo. It was quite a warm night, not even touching below 75 degrees Fahrenheit; this was quite a strong difference for one who had just come tromping in from several inches of snow. 

The customs hall was not large, but it was thankfully only our flight that was arriving at that time. Despite the usual delays of clearing passport control, I did not encounter any problems, having received my visa already stamped in my passport. Upon collecting my baggage, I went outside where I was approached by Fr. Francois Ouamba, the priest from the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles here in Kinshasa. He had agreed to host me during my stay and pick me up at the airport. He had come with Fr. Apollinaire, another MSA priest assigned to the mission in Kinshasa. Both are Cameroonian. Br. Samuel was also present, a seminarian for the MSA community completing pastoral work between his second and third years of seminary. 

Quickly finding our way to their parked car, all four of us managed to get the bags to fit in the limited space, climbed in ourselves, and were on our way. 

It turned out that Fr. Francois could not house me at his compound but instead put me up with a religious community down the road; they were part of the Society of the Most Holy Sacrament founded by St. Peter Julian Eymard. (picture below)

I was given quite a spacious room in the guest quarters and told Mass would be the next morning at 6:00 a.m., certainly enough incentive to get showered and quickly into bed. 

The next morning after Mass, Lauds, and breakfast, I walked down with a brother named Alex to Fr. Francois’s house. This was the first time I could really get a look at Kinshasa in broad daylight. I am not quite sure what I was expecting, but what I saw was a city that looked remarkably similar to the other major metropoles of Africa that I had visited. The ground had a sandy quality to it like that of Dar es Salaam, and along the way children on their way to school or household chores nodded or smiled in greeting. 

Upon arriving at Fr. Francois’s place, I could see this was an operation that was still in the process of getting underway. The eventual goal is for the order to have a formation house on the property they currently own. However, much more money is needed for this, and they only have a part of it built. There are a couple of young men residing there and taking courses before they head off to Yaoundé for seminary. Further, Br. Samuel is there completing his pastoral year. 

After I had gone around the premises with Fr. Francois and had lunch, I came back to the SSS (Society of the most Holy Sacrament) community for evening prayers. 

The next day, Friday, I had a surprise appointment I had not been expecting at the chancery for the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. My requests for an appointment regarding the Children’s Rosary had been quickly responded to, and Fr. Apollinaire graciously volunteered to drive me downtown, which ended up being no small feat in a city like Kinshasa. The traffic jams are downright terrible here, even worse than what I experienced in Nairobi or Dar es Salaam and probably only surpassed by Kampala. 

Kinshasa is a city of 17 million people, which for comparison, is more than twice the size of New York. The road infrastructure is limited severely overstressed, with cars, taxis, taxivans, semitrucks, pedestrians, motorcyclists, vendors, and hand-pulled wagons all competing for the very limited space. In addition, the roads are often in a deteriorated state, necessitating caution to navigate around areas of missing pavement and potholes. Not only this, but many of the cars are quite dilapidated themselves, so often when a large overloaded truck breaks down in the middle of the road, this can back up the road for a long distance just itself. Finally, the driving is quite aggressive, with cars often forcing their way to the left and right of the lane of traffic and then forcing their way back into traffic flow when they meet an obstacle such as oncoming traffic or some vendors on the side of the road. Thus, what ensues is a dead-stopped lane of cars with two also dead-stopped lanes on either side composed of cars trying to force their way into the already packed center lane. The handful of traffic lights downtown cycle through their reds, yellows, and greens, while motorists hardly pay them any mind. It is almost unbelievably stressful and difficult, and our drive lasted for nearly two and a half hours until we finally pulled into the chancery offices. I was so thankful that Fr. Apollinaire had been so good as to take me. 

The meeting succeeded in getting the ball rolling on diocesan approval for the Children’s Rosary to be started in parishes and schools, and so I was very happy I had been able to go. I first met with Fr. Clet, a dryly humorous but evidently also respected and efficient man who is the diocesan chancellor. He it was with whom I had been originally put in contact, and he wished for me to meet with the priest in charge of pastoral affairs, but that cleric was not in. Therefore, I was able to speak with his deputy who promised to present the information and materials I had conveyed to his superior at the earliest opportunity. 

That afternoon, after another very long and draining drive back, I reached the formation house completely exhausted. It is amazing how the traffic jams, especially when it is hot, humid, dusty, and loud, can cause such exhaustion. 

On Sunday, I went with Fr. Francois to a parish named St. Joseph of Arimathea where he and Fr. Apollinaire often celebrate Mass(picture above). The Mass was quite nice with a noticeably skilled choir and beautiful songs. Afterwards, we had lunch back at the MSA house with a couple of gentlemen from the parish, one of whom was a Latin and French teacher who had once been a seminarian. He was very nice, and I was glad to have gotten to know him. As someone who has taken years of Latin myself, it is a bit of a niche subject, and so finding someone else with whom I can relate a bit on the topic is always a nice development. 

Yesterday, since there were no definite plans given that the archdiocese had not responded yet about approval, I went to Fr. Francois’s funeral Mass back at the St. Joseph’s. I have now been to a few funerals and wakes in Africa, and this one was not so very different. The only major difference I noticed was that when the hearse left the parking lot after the Mass, it blared a loud siren, I suppose to make way for itself and also to announce its departure. Still, the sight of the leader of this solemn funeral procession, blaring and honking his way out of the parking lot made a distinct impression on me. That afternoon, I was able to finish some work and then go to Adoration and evening prayer. The Adoration occurs most days here as it is an integral part of their charism. A picture is attached.

Divine Mercy Conference 2026

 
A special thank you to those who both volunteered at our Children's Rosary booth this past weekend at the RDS in Dublin and all those who visited the booth. In the picture above Anne-Marie, Catherine and Ruth are shown. Each helped with distributing information about the Children's Rosary and answering questions about the Children's Rosary. Catherine wrote at the conclusion of Saturday that it was "an amazing day." Many new contacts were made which allows us to potentially involve more children in prayer. A thank you to Anne-Marie who made beautiful soaps and donated them to the Children's Rosary. These were very well received. 

Catherine shared after the event, "We were so inspired to meet many Children's Rosary leaders and teachers from all over Ireland who are witnessing the sanctification of children’s lives and that of their families, teachers and communities through the power of the Rosary. We met some groups who pray the Rosary with children in their schools and are now becoming Children’s Rosary members so we all unite in prayer for each other. Thanks also to Eddie and Tom Doherty of NET Ministries who kindly helped us with packing up at the end of the conference!"

Mass Offered on March 1, 2026 for Seminarians

A Mass was offered on March 1, 2026 for all seminarians that they will grow in holiness and lead us all in love. Every month, we have a Mass offered for this intention. As our seminarians will be the future shepherds and our children are their future flock, it seemed a beautiful way for the children to help with their prayers.  It is our goal to feature a different seminarian on the first of the month every month by inviting him to share something of himself and giving all our readers the opportunity to pray for him. This month, we are featuring Br. Gabin Brice Tayrou, a seminarian in Cameroon. Asher was able to meet Br. Gabin during his visit to Yaoundé, Cameroon (see picture below). Br. Gabin is a member of the order of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles. In addition to generously facilitating Asher’s stay in Cameroon, the MSA order has also helped to get Children’s Rosary groups up and running in and around Yaoundé. They are an Oder whose charism is the formation of priests, which they do for both dioceses and religious orders.

My vocation as I remember it 

It all started between 2001 and 2002 when my family moved to Mballa II, a neighborhood in Yaoundé. My mother quickly got into the habit of taking us to the 7 o’clock Mass at the nearest parish: Saints Peter and Paul of Mfoundi-Assi. It was during this Mass that I fell in love with the liturgy. At first, it was only admiration; until my mother took the initiative to enroll my older brother Daniel and me in catechism. From catechism, we were asked to join a parish group. That’s how the two of us joined the altar server group. What I admired, I could now experience. Shortly after beginning the Mass service, we left the initial catechism because the schedule conflicted with the group’s activities: we then dedicated ourselves exclusively to the Mass service. It was during those first years, more precisely in 2005, that I felt for the first time the call of the Lord. The triggering event was the funeral of the one who is today Saint John Paul II. I cannot explain how, but during that period I felt like a call to continue the work of the Holy Father, since he was no longer there. When I had to take the CEP and the entrance exam for 6th grade, I told my mother that I wanted to go to the minor seminary. But she explained to me that it was possible and preferable to first obtain the Baccalaureate and enter directly into the major seminary. She did not leave me much choice. I then took the entrance exam for Jean Tabi College, which I passed by the grace of God. It was also in that year, 2007, that my father began to express his reservations about our parish activities and my vocation. But with my mother's encouragement, I continued to attend the parish. When I got my baccalaureate in 2014, my father clearly refused for me to enter the major seminary. Not being of age and without his authorization for the major seminary, I resigned myself to pursuing studies in industrial robotics engineering for 5 years at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering in Douala (2014-2019). It was during my final year of study that I met the Society of Missionaries of the Holy Apostles, to which I belong today by the grace of God for already 7 years.

 

Children's Rosary in Brandon, Canada Leads Stations of the Cross

We received a lovely note this evening that the Children's Rosary at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church in Brandon, Canada. Brandon is in the Diocese of Winnipeg. The Children's Rosary led the Stations of the Cross at the parish this evening. They were joined by Fr. John Okosun shown in the picture above. This group recently had Children's Rosary sweatshirts and T-shirts made.

February 2026 Meeting of the Children's Rosary in Hamburg, Germany

 

The Children's Rosary in Hamburg, Germany met last weekend to pray and also to put focus on Lent and the month of February which honors the Holy Family. After praying, they created a little Holy Family and also discussed the concept of sacrifices during Lent. Forty people including adults and children attended the Children's Rosary.

This Children's Rosary in Hamburg will celebrate their 4 year anniversary next month!

Mass Offered on February 25, 2026 for the Members of the Children's Rosary

A Mass was offered today for all the members of the Children's Rosary and all who help the Children's Rosary. We continue to have a Mass said for this intention on the twenty-fifth of each month. The Eucharist is such a powerful gift from Our Lord that when we wanted to extend thanksgiving to all of you, we knew of no better way to express gratitude. May Our Lord's love be poured down on all of you through the powerful sacrifice of the Holy Mass. 

The picture included in this post was taken during the January meeting of the Children's Rosary in Dormitz, Germany.