Children’s Rosary

What is it?

The Children’s Rosary is an international prayer group movement dedicated to supporting the prayer lives of children (ages 4 -14) and to helping them grow in holiness through prayer of the Rosary. Since its founding in 2011, groups have been initiated in 43 countries. This program helps children to set deep roots of faith and helps to create leaders in the Church. Groups meet in parishes (church buildings or outstations), schools, and orphanages. Groups do not meet in private homes. The steps to begin a group include obtaining permission from one’s Pastor to begin a Children’s Rosary group, choosing a meeting location, choosing a regular meeting time (monthly, weekly, or if interest exists, daily), and inviting a group of families and children to the first meeting and including information in the Church bulletin. At the first meeting groups are asked to Consecrate the group to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is not an individual Consecration, rather it is a Consecration of the group, so the group is under the protection of Christ and His Mother.

An optional addition to meetings is the use of flowers. This is particularly nice for smaller children not able to lead or children with disabilities preventing them from leading.  At the end of each decade a child is asked to place a flower at the foot of a statue or picture of Mary if available. While the child is placing the flower, an adult, if reflecting on the first Glorious mystery, should say, “Mary we humbly place this flower at your feet and ask for the gift of…faith.” The gifts asked for correspond to the fruits of the mysteries. Children are encouraged to bring intentions to place before them as they meet in their prayer group. All groups are asked to pray for the other members of the Children’s Rosary, all who help the Children’s Rosary, and the intentions of Our Blessed Mother. In this way all the groups are covered in prayers each day.

How does it help?

The Children’s Rosary provides an opportunity for young families to experience prayer. Many young people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s did not grow up with family prayer. They might not know where to begin even if they wished. Yet young people are comfortable bringing their children to activities. Thus having a Church based prayer group helps to meet this need. The children are encouraged to immediately begin praying in the group and are encouraged to quickly take leadership roles in leading the decades. Children’s Rosary group leaders have included grandparents, parents, and young adults. Most often the lay group leader has a well developed prayer life, but the families who attend are often new to prayer. In this way it allows for the laity to help strengthen the faith of the next generation. Fruits we have seen from the groups include strengthening of the faith of the laity, development of leaders in the Church, and strengthening of families and parishes.

Why is it important?

The Children’s Rosary began in the United States, and groups have registered in 36 of the 50 states. In the US there is a growing secularization in society and  fracturing to the family structure. The Children’s Rosary has addressed a great need which exists. This is a need to support the prayer lives of children. Without a deep relationship with Jesus, children are leaving the faith in high numbers in their teenage years. The Children’s Rosary is creating a place and support for the prayer lives of children. When children become holy they have a great effect on the hearts of their parents and have the ability to open their own parents’ hearts to prayer and the faith. The simplicity of the Children’s Rosary has allowed it to be implemented not only in the US but in 43 countries around the world. It has had remarkable success in secularized countries, such as those in Europe, but has also been taken up in areas only just experiencing this secularization.

How did it start

The Children’s Rosary began out of Love for Our Lady and her Son, Jesus. It was born out of a call for help from a pastor who saw his Parish suffering a financial crisis and worried for its future existence. In prayerful reflection on this call for help an inspiration came to bring our children before Our Lady and Our Lord in the prayer of the Rosary, for we know how strong and dear are the prayers of children and how all heaven delights in them. The first meeting of the Children’s Rosary was on April 10, 2011 in Connecticut, USA. It was the Sunday before Palm Sunday that year. A group of children gathered that morning and knelt before a statue of Our Lady as they prayed as a group for the parish and the intentions of Our Lady. The weekend of the first Children’s Rosary had a record collection surpassed only by Easter and Christmas for the remainder of the year. There was nothing special about that weekend except for the small group of children who knelt in prayer of the Holy Rosary.

Benefits

As an international prayer group movement with participation of thousands of children all over the world, the laity benefits on a local, national, and international level. Although Children’s Rosary groups participate locally in their respective parishes, schools and/or orphanages, the organization of the movement enables participants to benefit from the support of people all over the world. This support not only arrives in the form of donations of Rosary beads and booklets, but also in the global newsletters and social media presence. In addition, international virtual meetings are held frequently in which group organizers share their experiences and children across the globe communicate with one another.

Means and funding

Initiating Children’s Rosary prayer groups requires little if no financial resources, and although we ask that each group be registered with the Children’s Rosary at childrensrosary.org there is no cost to the registration. The registration notifies us of new group locations and allows us to provide further information about the prayer group movement through monthly newsletters.

Ideally children participating in Children’s Rosary prayer groups would each have use of a rosary, although Children’s Rosary prayer groups have started with children using their hands to count the prayers while efforts are made to obtain rosaries. A lack of rosaries should not be a block to forming a group. If there is financial difficulty in providing rosaries for a Children’s Rosary prayer group, please write to blythe@childrensrosary.org to request donated handmade rosaries. Every effort is made to assist new groups with needed rosaries. Children’s Rosary Inc. is a registered nonprofit in the United States.

Learn more

The Children’s Rosary has an extensive website, childrensrsoary.org, which provides step by step instruction on the steps to form a group and how to run your first meeting. There are “How to Pray the Rosary” handouts available free to print. There are links to instructional videos from the website on “Frequently Asked Questions,” “How to Begin a Group,” and “How to Run Your First Meeting.” A theme song was written for the Children’s Rosary. We encourage groups to learn it in English, allowing all the groups the ability to sing together. The song is an optional component of meetings; children can sing it at the end of the meeting. Sheet music is available to print free as well as links to the theme song video with lyrics.

A monthly informational session is held for new and existing Children’s Rosary group leaders in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The dates of the three monthly meetings are provided on the website. The German meeting is held in German and English.

Countries involved

Registered Children’s Rosary groups have been initiated in the following 43 countries with countries bolded showing greater (more robust) involvement: Angola. Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Ireland, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Philippines, Scotland, Seychelles, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Uganda, United States (36 of 50 states with groups), Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Children’s Rosary websites are available in English (childrensrosary.org), Spanish (rosariodeninos.org), French (rosairedesenfants.org) and German (kinderrosenkranz.com). The Children’s Rosary prayer book, which has an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat, has been released in English, Spanish, French, and German.

How to start?

Given the simplicity of the Children’s Rosary, it has been straightforward to introduce this in countries across the globe. Even without extensive materials in a given local language, Church leaders and laity can easily grasp the goal and format of a Children’s Rosary. Forming a group allows the children of a parish to be connected in prayer to children across the globe and to be covered in the prayers of other groups meeting. The Children’s Rosary is not an intercessory prayer group movement. It does not pray for one intention such as peace. However, children are encouraged to write down their petitions, names of family members, or their priest’s name, and put these in an intention box before them as they pray. We do ask that each group include within their intentions the other members of the Children’s Rosary, those that help the Children’s Rosary, those uniting in prayer, and Our Blessed Mother’s intentions. Thus each Children’s Rosary group joins a tapestry of prayer that covers the globe.