64,451 Handmade Rosaries Arrive in Uganda!

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"On Thursday, September 25, was the day that the barrels of rosaries sent months before to this country were picked up in Kampala. It was quite an adventure for all involved. To give some context, the Children's Rosary sends barrels of handmade rosaries to Uganda every year for the children who are part of the Children's Rosary. I myself have seen just how much these children treasure their rosaries, and it is an essential part of their prayer. It is always a bit complicated when one sends them to know when they will be released from customs upon their arrival in country. The wait can be long and hard to estimate. We were informed about a day earlier that the rosaries had been released and available for pickup. Fr. Alex drove from the Tanzanian border to Uganda to pick up some rosaries, and Fr. Jude Ssali's brother, Joseph, came from Mityana. Initially, the company refused to release them because the name on the reservation did not match the names of those there to pick them up. After some nerve-wracking time of working to fix the miscommunication, they were allowed to pick up the barrels, and all went off smoothly. 

Fr. Alex took some of the rosaries to Masaka, and we both dropped them off at the diocesan education offices where groups will be able to pick them up for the children. After driving from Kampala in the rain, his car was so caked with mud (which is what the road is covered in when it rains instead of the dust) that it looked rather like a duck boat that had just come through a flood zone. 

He said he had gotten it washed just before. Fr. Alex then drove us that night to his parish in Mutukula, right on the border with Tanzania. It was a ride of a few hours, and we left at around 10:30. Somehow Br. Henry managed to stay awake with Fr. Alex, but I quickly fell fast asleep.

Fr. Alex has a number of schools he is in charge of here, and since he had a function to attend, the next day he sent Fr. Dick Lusembo, the Father in charge of schools for the parish, to bring us to some of the schools. We first visited St. Kizito Primary School; they were a bit busy with government officials to were present to register the children for national identity cards, but they spared the time to listen to us speak, and they will begin a Children's Rosary that will meet every week. 

We then paid a visit to St. Paul Kyalugaba Primary School and to St. Anthony Kyassimbi Primary School. Both of these also decided to start Children's Rosary groups every week. We distributed rosaries at all of these schools, to give encouragement and aid to the newly-formed groups, and the children were grateful to receive them. Fr. Lusembo was thoroughly behind our message, telling the schools he very much wished for them to become a part of this effort and to meet regularly. He also told us during the car rides between schools of the challenges that he and the teachers face, particularly with regular student attendance. Not all parents prioritize school attendance in the same way, and the local inhabitants of the region were historically more nomadic than stationary. It was more similar, Br. Henry told me, to the areas in Kenya we had visited with the Maasai tribe six years ago, and even the ecology of the landscape seemed more similar to Kenya. Gone were the large forests and lush vegetative life; these were replaced with straw fields and small bushes. 

Lastly, we spent some time with St. Steven school, which is the school right next to the parish where Fr. Lusembo lives. They too, wished to begin a Children's Rosary, and they too decided to meet weekly. 

Fr. Lusembo and I had lunch together following this. He is a very nice and humble priest who was only ordained last year. He has a very gentle demeanor, and I can see that the children under his care like him a lot.

Afterward, Fr. Lusembo stayed to watch the students campaign for elected student government positions. As far as I could see, they take this campaigning quite seriously; there were two very official-looking posters in the classroom where I spoke that read "Vote" and had the picture of one of the primary school students who was running for office. I thought it very professionally done. 

The rest of the afternoon I spent catching up on work and in prayer. There is an adoration chapel at the parish that I availed myself of. I did not realize until I went in how much I had missed going to regular adoration since the schedule had become as it is. It is important for anyone looking to spread a mission to never forget time for prayer. It can be tempting, especially if the schedule is long, to cut back on the prayer routine, but in doing so, it will destroy the effort faster than cutting back on the schedule of active work. This mission is the Lord's, and we must continually entrust it back to Him."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

The Journey Continues in the Masaka Diocese

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"On September 24, we went back to the Lukaya parish to visit St. Jude's School there. We arrived early for the 8:00 am Mass with the whole school, and then we proceeded into an open area behind the school to recite the rosary. The children knelt down, and we prayed a very well-led rosary together. The coordinator, Teacher Nalukumbi Jane Frances, was very enthusiastic about starting up the Children's Rosary again. We then hit the road again, this time in the direction of Kyamulibwa. Before I speak about our visit there, I want to say a few words about the roads we have spent so much time traveling on. I must say I was not prepared for the kind of ride one receives, especially on country lanes in rural areas. Even in the centers of many towns, the roads are often dirt roads with large gaps and potholes that necessitate slow driving and quick avoidance. Many times, not only are you bumping up and down vertically but swerving side to side often into the oncoming traffic to avoid some of the bigger holes. Even when roads are paved, they often have large holes that necessitate evasive action. In the case of the road to Kyamulibwa, it was a dirt road the whole way. On such roads, there is often a thick layer of dust particularly when it has not rained in a few days. When you are the only car on the road, it is easy to miss how much dust the car kicks up, but when a large truck passes you going the other direction, one has the impression of being in a small sandstorm. For a few moments, you lose all bearings like a ship in the fog. Sometimes, in villages or cities on such roads, there are so many cars and bodabodas (small motorcycles that are much more numerous than cars here that people hire like taxis) that there lies a pall of dust over the road like smog over an industrial zone. In such cases, even this can become so thick as to impede driving; I remember once when we were looking for a certain address on the side of the road, both Br. Henry and the driver were struggling to see anything to the sides of us. They rolled down the windows and peered futilely into the dense cloud. Upon arriving at Kyamulibwa, the old parish of Fr. Alex Musoke. Fr. Musoke had done much good work in bringing the Children's Rosary there as well as Fr. Musinzi, who is now deceased. The priest there now, Fr. Noah, very kindly took us to see three different schools in his parish. 

Two of them, St. Leonard school (uniforms in yellow) and St. Kizito school, had active Children's Rosary groups already. 

St. Kizito's group was particularly active, with an elected group of students who run it and different teams of children (such as St. Ann's or St. Joseph's team) who take turns leading the prayers. They had a prayer space and an intention box prepared, and all in all it was quite well run. The third school, St. Aloysius, had previously had a Children's Rosary group but had stopped due to the pandemic and other factors. We met with the teachers in charge and with those students in P7 and P6 grades who still remembered the group from when they were younger. They were the pioneers of the group originally, and they will help with starting it up again. The head teacher remained impressed with the Children's Rosary, telling us that in her experience these students who were part of the Children's Rosary group were not like other ones in her school. At the end of the day, we returned to Masaka to visit one more school, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Primary School.

This school is run by the nuns of the Daughters of Mary congregation. There was something very special about this community and their school. 

I felt a great joy coming from the sisters that we met and from the children that were under their care. It was as if they knew they were doing the Lord's work every day and took strength from it. 

The strong relationship between the nuns and the children was evident. The children listened quite eagerly to what we had to say. This school already had a daily rosary, so it will not be difficult at all to officialize the Children's Rosary. Ironically, though Br. Henry and I were both quite exhausted by this point in the day (it was well into the evening), we really hit it off with these students, being extra dynamic in our talks and establishing a good rapport. As I was reflecting on this day, I could not help but be so thankful for the people we had met, not just the new schools wanting to start or restart groups but the ones with groups already. It does happen in this mission that one begins to worry whether many of the groups that have been formed will continue to meet or gradually become abandoned and cease to exist. One can be tempted to try to think one's efforts are largely futile. However, on this day, I saw vibrant groups, groups that loved the Rosary and were transformed by it. For example, at St. Kizito's School, the children took their group so seriously and were so faithful to it that I myself was inspired by their conduct. It was a powerful testament to me that these children and their teachers and animators and the many, many others like them are the ones who feed the movement, and they do so through a love of the Rosary and a commitment to their regular prayer of it. It is God's work ultimately, not mine or anyone else's, and He will guide it in just the way He wishes."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

Cathedral of St Joseph Begins the Children's Rosary

 

We are excited to share that the Cathedral of St Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut held their first Children's Rosary today. This was initiated as part of the faith formation program. Once a month the children will gather in the Cathedral to hold a Children's Rosary. Today was their first meeting and 57 children attended. 

Arrival in the Diocese of Masaka, Uganda

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"On Monday, September 22, Br. Henry Bukenya and I left the Mityana diocese where we had been to come to the Diocese of Masaka in Uganda. We had visited this diocese in 2019 and had had a very positive experience there, so we were hoping to re-invigorate some of the Children's Rosary groups that had been started and begin new ones.

We stayed with a family not far from the city. They are friends of Br. Bukenya's and very generous to welcome us into their home, which was situated down a quiet road in the woods, secluded and peaceful.

On Tuesday, September 23, we went to the Parish of St. Jude in Lukaya. We had visited that parish in 2019 when Fr. Paul Mukasa was the parish priest. he had done much good work in establishing the Children's Rosary there but was transferred not long after. We met with the current priest, Fr. Henry Kiganda, who was very enthusiastic about re-starting the Children's Rosary groups there that had suffered during the pandemic. We decided to come back a day later to visit the children of that school so that they could prepare a reception for us. Instead, that afternoon, we went with Rose, a longtime animator for the Children's Rosary, to a few nearby schools. 

First, we paid a visit to the Vision Park Primary School. The children all gathered together in a courtyard with their bright red uniforms to hear some short addresses that Br. Bukenya and I gave them, and then we worked out the details for how the Children's Rosary would start up again at their school; the name decided upon for the group was Seat of Wisdom Children's Rosary group. 

On a humorous side note, I have noticed as we have made more and more of these school visits that Br. Henry is far more dynamic and energizing for the children than I am. With my accent and way of speaking English, many of the children either have not had most of their English language education yet or find it difficult to understand me. Usually, either Br. Henry or someone else translates or they provide a short summary at the end of what I said. Sometimes the priest asks a child to stand up and give a summary of what they understood, which reminds me a bit of my days in Latin class when students would be called at random to translate sentences of Anselm or Aquinas, much to the dread of everyone present. 

After Vision Park, we stopped at Mustard Seed primary school, where the children were wearing (rather unsurprisingly) yellow and green uniforms. The head teacher was very nice and incredibly obliging since he gathered the children briefly for us to talk to them in the middle of the school day. This Children's Rosary group is to be called Cause of our Joy Children's Rosary group. 

Earlier in the day, Br. Henry had told me that I had an appointment in the afternoon with the education secretary for the diocese. Being unable to take me there, he asked Fr. Alex Musoke to do so. Fr. Musoke is another old friend of the Children's Rosary, someone we had visited in 2019 when he was parish priest at Kyamulibwa. It was very good to see him again. He took me to see Fr. Elia Tuwesige, the education secretary, and Fr. Simeo Makaayi, who also works in the education department. They were very supportive of our efforts with the Children's Rosary in the diocese, and we look forwards to working with them further.

As soon as we had finished, Fr. Musoke told me I was going to meet with Fr. Kasule Mbaaga Tuzinde, in charge of the diocesan radio station, Centenary radio. My mother and I had met Fr. Tuzinde back in 2019 not in Africa but at EWTN in August of that year. He was in Irondale for an internship, and my mother and I were there for an interview with Jim and Joy Pinto. 

Fr. Tuzinde remembered our meeting in Alabama quite well, and he pulled it up on his phone immediately. He introduced me to the staff who were assembled for a routine staff meeting, and then he invited me to record a short radio spot that would air periodically with information about the Children's Rosary. 

Just at the end of our meeting, Fr. Musoke informed me that he had asked if the bishop would be available to meet with me that evening and that bishop had said yes. Thus, immediately afterward, we rushed over to the episcopal residence where Fr. Musoke and I met with Bishop Severus Jjumba. We had also met Bishop Jjumba in 2019, and I remembered him as being very kind and supportive of the movement, something that was reaffirmed in this second meeting. I updated him on what had happened with the Children's Rosary since our last visit and of our renewed efforts in the dicoese, and he reiterated the support we had received at the education department.

At the end of the day, I was exhausted. This had been a particularly full day that was originally supposed to wrap up after the Mustard Seed visit. Nevertheless, I was really quite astonished at how God's providence managed to resolve the potential difficulties in our schedule. We had not been certain whether we would be able to meet the bishop or when that would be. I had not even realized the potential of recording the radio spot at the station, but due to the hard work of both Br. Henry and Fr. Alex, the Lord was able to tie together three very important developments almost before I realized what was happening.

In thinking back over the day we had spent, one moment that stood out to me was when we were visiting the Mustard Seed group and Br. Henry asked the students if they remembered when I came by the last time in 2019. Some of the older students did. For some reason, that hit me in a particular way. These children and all the children in the Children's Rosary are linked to us and to each other in very ways that we should not forget. The children at this school I had met before, but there are many groups out there I have never met, yet they are all connected to us through the bonds of prayer; we pray for them, and they pray for us. What a powerful grace that is."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

First Children's Rosary in the Bahamas

We are excited to share that the first Children's Rosary in the Bahamas will hold their first meeting on October 4 at St. Anselm's Parish in Nassau, Bahamas. We welcome this Children's Rosary group!

photo credit: wiki commons

Mass Offered on September 25, 2025 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 pictures above are from a recent meeting of the Children's Rosary at Sacred Heart Church in East Berlin, Connecticut USA. This group meets on the first Saturday of every month. 

A Special Invitation

Dear Friends, "Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor 9:23-27). Our spiritual life requires training. If we would like to do as St. Paul challenges us and "Run so as to win," then we must follow his advice and "exercise discipline." It has been a yearly tradition within the Children’s Rosary to do nine days of prayer and fasting in the fall. This year it will begin on September 29 and end on October 7. We hope many will want to join us. Bread and water fasting is very effective as a means of sacrifice. Some may not be able to fast on bread, and this is okay. Prayerfully discern what is the best fasting for you. In the past, we have had adults and children join this fast. We do ask that you prayerfully consider what is safe and reasonable for you and your family. Some may be able to do a traditional bread and water fast. This is unlimited bread and water. Others may find another thing in their life that would be a great sacrifice to give up for that period. One of the most important things when one begins a fast is the disposition. One must approach fasting as an act of love to God. Some may want to do this fast but have not fasted before and wonder if they could complete the nine days. What I have found is that the first two days are the hardest. In many ways, the fast becomes easier as you go along. Please accept this humble invitation to join these 9 days of fasting. It is an invitation to help to rid yourself of all the things holding you back spiritually. 

I would like to also offer a unique opportunity. For those joining the Children's Rosary 9 days of prayer and fasting I will be praying each day for you in front of a first class relic of the True Cross. The intention card below will remain with the relic for 9 days as the fast continues. In this way you are united in prayer to Our Lord's Cross.

The Fast will begin on September 29, the Feast of the Archangels, and conclude on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7. 

1) Pray one Rosary each day, meditating on the life of Christ 

2) Fast for nine days 

3) Every day, please offer the rosary and the fast for the following intentions: 

*Lord, please purify our souls from the attachments of the world. Jesus, we surrender all we have; please take control of our lives and our families. May Jesus be born in our hearts and may He renew us. May the Holy Spirit guide our thoughts and actions and renew our soul. May our hands be the extended hands of Mary and Jesus in this world. May the members of the Children’s Rosary also be the extended hands of Mary and Jesus in this world and gather a great many souls, especially young people, for Our Lord. *Personal Intentions (      ) *May all that Our Lady wishes to accomplish through us and the Children’s Rosary be accomplished all for the glory of God. *May the book, Child Consecration: To Jesus through Mary—Following in the Spirit of St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, be an instrument to bring a great many souls to Jesus through His Mother. *For a special Children’s Rosary intention. *In thanksgiving.

If you are wondering if anything will change by doing this fast read below a testimonial from last year's fast. 

The following email was sent from one of our Children's Rosary group leaders from Ireland: Praise God! I must also update you of extra special personal graces within my own home.  My heart has wanted so badly to manage to get my own family together nightly to say the Rosary. I never miss a day myself, but efforts to date has brought conflict and failure for one reason or another over the last few years. That's a big reason why I started the Children's Rosary group in my own parish in the first place- to help us to pray the Rosary together, and thank God the children have always been so willing and receptive and my husband so supportive. At home though I've found myself getting so frustrated that our family Rosary has been so difficult to manage. However I always kept hope!!! This fast and daily Rosary that came with it has sparked the change in my own house! Since the fast ended we are now all gathering on our knees every night at 7pm and recite the Rosary, and I know its all down to Our Blessed Mother and the Children's Rosary. So, my own house of children is being moved by the Rosary- not just on the outside, but from the inside too. My heart is full!!! My prayers have been answered!

I look forward to a fruitful fast ahead. I hope many will consider making the journey.

Your Friend in Christ,

Blythe

The Visit to Mityana Diocese Uganda Continues

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"On Saturday Morning, September 20, after visiting Our Lady of Fatima Parish Mwera, Br. Bukenya, our driver, and I set out to visit Fr. Jude Ssali at Denis Centre Primary School some distance away. Fr. Jude (shown above) has, of course, been a longtime friend of the Children’s Rosary, and the first group in Uganda was formed at his parish (at that time Our Lady of Fatima). We arrived at Denis Centre Primary School where we were welcomed by the students with a very energetic welcome dance. After this, we entered the school campus and knelt in prayer of the Rosary. This was followed by Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Jude. Subsequently, some teachers, parents, and a student came forward to give some filmed testimony about their experiences with the Children’s Rosary. What they shared was quite illuminating: the prayer lives of the children had been deepened; their affects were improved, and more. Everyone was very open and happy to see us. In the evening, we went with Fr. Jude to his parish of Lwangiri. There we spent the night, and the next morning, Sunday, we had Mass at 7:00 am with the secondary and primary school students from the schools nearby. 

I gave a short talk on the Children’s Rosary and my visit, and then this was followed by another Mass at 9:00 for the parishioners where I gave a similar short talk at the end. Following Mass, some secondary school children who had been pioneers of the Children’s Rosary when they were in primary school and who had been dedicated members came to give more testimony about how their experience in the movement had impacted their lives. Fr. Jude also recorded similar statements about what he had witnessed. In the afternoon, we went to visit St. Michael’s Primary School, a private school founded by Catholics that has a regularly meeting Children’s Rosary group. We prayed the Rosary together, and Fr. Jude celebrated another Mass, following which the children (who were all quite musically accomplished) put on a very high quality show with dances and instrumental music that I quite liked.

The performance was interrupted for quite a long while, however, by some particularly heavy rain which moved in suddenly. The water came down in buckets, and very soon the area around the school began to wash out. The gusts of wind blew the water in through the windows, forcing us to move away from the walls. By the end, the paths to the school were so thoroughly soaked that the mud clung to my shoes in copious amounts. Nevertheless, I think we were all glad for the rain because it is currently the rainy season, and thus it is good for the crops to receive such precipitation.

 Afterwards, the students presented us with some avocadoes and sugarcanes as gifts, some of which we prepared and ate that very night. Nearly everyone was quite tired after this day, which had begun at 7:00 and had not ended until well into the evening. However, the next morning, we set off bright and early for the parish of Bukalagi where Fr. Pius has been overseeing the implementation of the Children’s Rosary in some outposts of the parish. We visited the subparish of St. Mary’s Kanoni, whether the children have named their group, “Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Children’s Rosary group.” They were so kind as to take time off from their classes to receive me. I was able to meet those responsible for the group and spend some time, though we soon had to move on to the next stop. This was St. Charles Primary School, which falls within the parish limits. The reception was a bit more intimate as there were fewer students present on that day, but nevertheless I found that I took well to that format as it gave more time to meet and acknowledge each student. We made one more stop at Kifampa Modo Primary School where we greeted a group of the learners who participated in the Children’s Rosary at their parish before we returned to the main parish church with Fr. Pius. There, we had to wait to visit the children at the boarding school nearby because of the rains, which were quite heavy like the day before though not quite as intense. When we finally were able to go to the school, I was very impressed with how respectful and attentive the students were. They were genuinely happy to see us, and they gave very interesting testimonies about how the Rosary and the intercession of Mary had impacted their lives. Finally, just before leaving, I paid a visit to a small community of nuns who live near the parish. Their order works in hospitals and schools and was founded in Masaka, where we went afterward. We will spend nearly a week in Masaka, visiting groups and attempting to start new ones. A family that Br. Henry knows is kindly hosting us for a part of that time, and we are very grateful. I continue to be grateful as well for the opportunity to see such devoted Children’s Rosary groups and to witness the powerful testimony that we have heard."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

Arrival in the Diocese of Mityana, Uganda

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"Friday, I visited Our Lady of Fatima parish in Mityana, Uganda. This is a parish that is just starting the Children's Rosary, so it was a different but no less important kind of visit than the last one. I was with Br. Henry Bukenya. We arrived in the afternoon and were welcomed very cordially by Fr. Simeon, who invited us to lunch and then took us to where the children of St. Noa infant school and St. Luke Primary school were waiting for us. 

Amazingly, they had been waiting for us since noon, and by the time we arrived and were going to greet them, it was close to 4:00 pm. Nevertheless, with admirable patience, they showed no sign of displeasure. Some children performed a welcome dance that was very intricate and beautiful, and then after an introduction from Fr. Simeon, we knelt down to pray the rosary. I particularly liked this because of course, it was the perfect embodiment of the mission we are trying to spread, that is, prayer of the rosary. Everyone knelt down in the grass in the cool evening breeze and said the prayers reverently and calmly. 

Subsequently, Br. Henry and I each gave addresses to the group, with Br. Henry providing advice and guidelines on how the group ought to function. I transmitted some words of greeting from my mother and gave them my own.

After this, we left with Fr. Simeon to go to an even more remote school, St. Matia Mulumba. St. Matia, or Matthias, was one of the Ugandan martyrs killed by King Mwanga II in the late nineteenth century. The school was very remote, only able to be reached after driving for at least twenty minutes on a dirt road with large ditches caused by rainwater. Once we arrived, the children, who had been waiting even longer than the other students, gave us another welcome dance, and then we all made our way into the church to pray and attend Mass. After Mass, some soccer balls that we had brought were given out, much to the delight of the children. We had given balls to the other school as well, and we found that this was something all the children we visited were very fond of. 

After taking a picture together and taking some time to speak to the children and teachers, we had to leave since it was getting dark. Fr. Simeon kindly offered to lead our car toward the main road to avoid our getting lost or stuck somewhere else, and then we went on our way. 

I must say that there was something about the peacefulness and the calmness of the rosary that we prayed together with the students that I very much appreciated. It was as if any pressure and angst was slowly released like air out of a balloon and replaced by a repose in the presence of God. I was impressed with how a new group such as this took so readily to the charism and spirit of the movement, already praying the Rosary so well and so devoutly. 

Thank you to Fr. Simeon who welcomed us, to Matthew, head of St. Luke school, and to all of the children, teachers, and animators who give of themselves so generously."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE

Famille Chrétienne

 

The Children's Rosary was featured in the September 19th issue of Famille Chrétienne. We are grateful to journalist Benjamin Coste for interviewing Asher Kaufman for this piece during his visit to France. Famille Chrétienne is a weekly Catholic magazine with circulation in France.

For more information about the Children's Rosary in French speaking countries please visit our French site: rosairedesenfants.org

A Speech Given by Members of the Children's Rosary in Luweero, Uganda

During Asher Kaufman's visit to the Children's Rosary at Mother Mary of Good Shepherd Mulajje Parish Kasana Luwero Diocese, Uganda on September 17 the groups had prepared a speech. A copy was given to Asher and we share it here as it gives a wonderful account of the good fruits that have come from the children meeting in these prayer groups. 

CHILDREN'S ROSARY GROUP MOVEMENT A PRAYER GROUP MOVEMENT FOR CHILDREN.*

Our dear visitors Seminarian Asher son to Dr. Kaufman Marie Blythe from USA, you are warmly welcome here at Mother Mary of Good Shepherd Mulajje Parish Kasana Luwero Diocese.

 And we greet you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Children's Rosary is a global  prayer movement that organizes prayer groups for children aged 4 to 14, though children of all ages are welcome. Founded in 2011, it encourages children to pray the Rosary together, aiming to support their faith, foster spiritual growth, and unite them in prayer to Our Mother Mary and her Son. 

It was introduced in our parish by Rev. Father Thadius, Brother Henry Bukenya and Rev. Father  Doctor Gerald Wamala and on 1/ July / 2018. Animators, Catechists, Parish executive, Parents, teacher and children really welcomed it. 

And we have different 20  groups with 110 Animators  and 12,300 children in our parish according to Sub Parishes. Which include the following; 

1. SSEMPA SUB PARISH - *MOTHER OF GOD* 

2. SSEKAMULI SUB- PARISH- *MORNING STAR* 

3.MITYEBIRI SUB PARISH- *REGIONAL OF MARY* 

4. BUGGA SUB PARISH - *HOUSE OF GOD* 

5. KIBANNYI SUB PARISH- *ARK OF THE COVENANT* 

6. ST. PETER'S SUB- PARISH- *QUEEN OF ANGELS* 

7.KACWAMPA SUB- PARISH - *QUEEN OF APOSTLES.* 

8. MULAJJE SUB PARISH - *QUEEN OF MARTYRS.* 

9. MONDE SUB PARISH- *QUEEN OF PEACE.* 

10. MAGOGGO SUB- PARISH- *VIRGIN MOST MERCIFUL.* 

11. GIRIYADDA SUB- PARISH - *MOTHER OF DIVINE MERCY.* 

12. BUKESA SUB- PARISH - *MOTHER OF OUR SAVIOUR* 

13. KYOGA SUB- PARISH- *SEAT OF WISDOM* 

14. KYABUGGA SUB - PARISH- *VIRGIN MOST FAITHFUL* 

15. MASUNKWE SUB- PARISH - *MIRROR OF JUSTICE* 

16.  KAKOOLA  SUB- PARISH- *HEALTHY OF THE SICK* 

17. BUSAMBU SUB-PARISH - *MOTHER OF CHRIST.* 

18. NKULUZE SUB-PARISH - *TOWER OF IVORY.* 

19. KAMWANO SUB-PARISH - *CAUSE OF OUR JOY.* 

20. MALUNGU  SUB PARISH - *VESSEL OF HONOR* .

*ACHIEVEMENTS*

1.Rev. Father Doctor Gerald Wamala brought the children and animators together in different Masses and functions as children together. Always is made the children to have memorable happiest moments, funny and togetherness among the children and animators.

2.There has been a strong relationship between the animators and children, children and children. This has pushed them to learn to support the needy and not letting their fellow members down.

3. The children have grown strong in faith as they lead prayers together, recite the rosary, serving as alter-servers in different churches.

4. Since the group names are from the litany of the Blessed Mother Mary so they are able to pronounce them with joy, smiles which pushes them to learn them more and more.

5. We managed to get some uniforms(T.SHIRTS) of Global Children's Rosary group for both animators and the children which completely make them to look smart.

6. Receiving Rosaries in different times. Has helped the children to have them always as their weapons and reciting them always.

7. Children learnt to pray for themselves and praying for others through Mother Mary, participating in church activities like singing, taking readings creating confidence in them.

8. It has attracted some children from different faith to join Catholic faith and even baptized. And reciting the Rosary is their best happy moments.

9. Some are testifying since they joined the group and learnt to recite the Rosary have got testimonies like total healing and improving on their performance grades.

10.They have learned Art and craft plus drawings since they joined this group.

11. As for the animators have learned how to handle children with different backgrounds, those with high anger, creating relationship with children and their fellow animators, also learn new things in the field that they didn't know before, being inspired by others in participating in different church activities and still being role models to their children.

12. Since the children joined the group and when they got their T.shirts always they are put on their frontline in different activities which attracts more children and parents' attention encouraging more children to join and more parents to support their children in it.

13. More parents have been inspired by the children in who are always put on the Frontline in different church activities like when we had Rev. Father Bruno Sserunkuma's ordination the children in the group well dressed in their T.shirts had to welcome the visitors by waving the flags, leading in the offertory parts. This encourages them to support their children  financially and spiritually even encouraging those who had not joined before to join this leading to increasement in the group. 

14. The parents are appreciative that their children's behaviors changed completely and their faith is so stronger than before like seeing a 4 or 5 year old child encouraging the elders to say prayers,  seeing their children taking readings or singing because they have their special days when they lead the Mass. That's why they struggle to get for them the uniforms and support them financially so that to help their friends in need, transportation fee while children needed at the church and encouraging others to join this more advertisement of the group. 

*WAY FORWARD*

*WE PLAN TO.......*

1. Spread the children Rosary group to different churches among different children. 

2. Teach children to go deep in reciting the Rosary. And know how lucky we are to have Mother Mary. 

3. Teach and encourage children to learn to pray for themselves and pray for others.

4. Teach children learn more in art and craft so they they can learn to save and help out themselves and helping the needy.

5. See that the number of Children can increase in the Rosary group movement wide world.

In conclusion, dear Dr. Kaufman Marie Blythe we are really grateful for introducing the Children Rosary group movement wide world.

And all the things you have done for us and sending us the Rosaries

Rev. Father Doctor Gerald Wamala, Rev. Father Ambrose Gombya, Rev. Father Sserulangira Godfrey, Rev. Sisters, Brother Henry, Catechists, parish executive and animators. We are really grateful for all.

We pray through Mother Mary and His son to help us to spread the reciting the Rosary throughout the world.

*PUBLICITY BETTY NAKAYENGA*

AND

*CHAIRPERSON JUSTINE SSEPUYA.*

ON THE BEHALF OF THE CHILDREN'S ROSARY GROUP MOVEMENT IN MOTHER OF GOOD SHEPHERD MULAJJE PARISH.

Visit to Luweero, Uganda

Asher Kaufman, age 18, set out on June 28 for a yearlong trip to help spread the Children's Rosary in Europe and Africa. He spent the months of July, August and the first two weeks in September in France. He arrived in Uganda on September 15. He grew up helping the Children's Rosary and participating in it. He now is helping to spread the Children's Rosary to more parishes and schools. He is also discerning a vocation to the priesthood and has applied to the seminary through the Archdiocese of Hartford. Please keep both his trip and his vocation in your prayers. He has been sharing dispatches from the trip. 

"Why is a community of faith so important to the Christian life? Why is it that so many Christian writers stress the vital nature of communities of faith to the spiritual life?

The Christian is a person in need of Divine and human connection, vertical and horizontal relationships, so to speak. He must have a personal relationship with God and thus seek communion with his Creator through prayer and contemplation, study and work. However, he must also have deeply caring and loving relationships with those around him, with his family and community.

The combination of these two is the basis for a fundamentally Catholic idea, that we reach Heaven not as individuals alone with God but as a community of faith, each acting as one, such as at the liturgy of the Mass or in community prayer.

Wednesday, I visited the Children's Rosary at the Mulajje Parish in the Kasana-Luwero diocese of Uganda. I was given a very warm reception with flowers, a procession, and a High Mass decorated and celebrated as though for Easter morning.

The children danced and sang after the Mass in a performance of cultural tradition that was delightful and highly skilled. The frank, glowing welcome on everyone's face was quite moving to me. 

I want to thank all those who made it possible, including Henry Bukenya(shown above), national coordinator, who is hosting me and bringing me to various parishes in Uganda where Children's Rosary groups exist. I want to thank Fr. Gerald, who has done so much to nurture the Children's Rosary at the parish of Mulajje, and I want to thank Fr. Ambrose (shown above) who helped to run the events, celebrated Mass, and was very kind. I also want to thank Madame Betty and Sr. Vincenzia, who do much to organize and help operate the Children's Rosary groups. Additionally, Andrew Lubega, head of laity for the parish, gave an address and helped put together activities yesterday in addition to his many parochial duties. Finally, thanks to the coordinators at all of the 20 subparishes, the 110 animators who give so much to the children, and to the 12,300 children who participate in the Children's Rosary at Mulajje parish. 

After reflecting on my experience, I realized that this community, this Children's Rosary was an ideal example of the Christian community. 

As I spoke to people who have been part of a group of the Children's Rosary, and as I observed the young altar servers at Mass and the singers in the choir, I saw that the members of this parish indeed had deep personal relationships with God. One young man told me how his participation in the Children's Rosary helped to orient his life toward a vocation to the priesthood.

I also saw that this parish had deep connections in common to each other. As the children sang and danced, as they played soccer with the new balls they were given, I could see these people were happy together and valued each other. 

Finally, they were clearly united by their faith. First and foremost for them was their life of prayer and their common connection to God. One animator told me how the children's witness helped to change their parents' attitude toward the Church and the faith. And after the opening procession at Mass, the children broke out into applause out of sheer delight for and worship of the presence of God in their midst. It was a sublime moment. 

I came away from Mulajje parish knowing what I had seen was a model, a tiny taste of what we believers will experience in Heaven."

To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE