What do you do when you need 75,000 rosaries, comprised of 3,975,000 beads strung together by hand, in time for the Sept. 24 beatification of Bishop Fulton Sheen?

You go to your first-line volunteers, the sisters and cloistered nuns in convents across the United States, and ask if they would help make the official World Mission Rosaries designed by Bishop Sheen himself. 

Dominican Sister Jude Andrew Link of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Peoria, first came up with the idea, which was approved by Msgr. Roger Landry, national director of The Pontifical Mission Societies USA. (Read all about putting out the appeal to all rosary makers.)

Sisters in many convents have answered the call.

When the request arrived for the Poor Clare Nuns of Maria Regina Mater Monastery in Kokomo, Indiana, there was no question they’d assist.

One of the sisters called to get supplies from Our Lady’s Rosaries Makers. Once they arrived, the nuns started this rosary-making project on May 13, the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, a day which happened to coincide with Venerable Sheen’s 1977 visit to their monastery.

The Poor Clares feel blessed to be of help, as expressed in their comments to the Register. 

“Making the rosaries was such a joy, since I remember watching Bishop Sheen on TV every Sunday as a child. My whole family would be there,” shared one sister.

“This has been an opportunity for me to express my love for the missions and how even as cloistered nuns we have a role to pray and sacrifice for all those around the world,” related another sister. 

“I’ve been praying for Bishop Sheen’s beatification for years, and it has been a gift to be able to participate in this simple, hidden way,” wrote a third sister.

Pray has anchored the effort.

“As I was making the rosaries, I got tired of counting to 10, so I made it into a little prayer,” explained another sister. “I would say, ‘Father, Son, Spirit. Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Francis, Clare, Colette and Fulton!’ It was a beautiful way to stay recollected!”

Sisterly support is natural to communal life, as Mother Chiara related. 

“As Franciscans, Poor Clares place a great emphasis on fraternal life, and that aspect of our spirituality very much shone through in our approach to this project. Though, at first, we thought the best way to tackle making 1,000 rosaries would be for each sister to make 100, our method quickly evolved into a more collaborative model.”

“Each sister naturally took on a particular ‘specialty,’ with one taking charge of cutting the cord; another two primarily tying crucifixes to the ends for the sisters who find knots challenging; another two taking responsibility for gluing, trimming, and bundling our finished products; and all pitching in to string beads as they could,” she explained. “Every sister felt needed and appreciated for her part in the process, and each of our 1,000 rosaries passed through multiple sisters’ hands in a beautiful, unified effort.”

“A particular joy was to have our very sick sister on hospice contribute, not only with her prayer and interest, but her efforts to complete three rosaries,” added Mother Chiara, “and this after a lifetime of making rosaries for the missions.”

Sisters with a more public presence also pitched in. Such a challenge was nothing new to Sister Mary Guadalupe of the School Sisters of Christ the King in Lincoln, Nebraska.

“Rosary making has been a hobby of mine for a long time, since I learned in college,” she wrote, sharing her story.

“Mostly I’ve just made them to be able to give away to people when they are in need or for my students, family or other gifts. So when we got the invitation to participate in this project it gave me a mission or purpose for my rosary making, which has been rewarding. As I’ve been making them, I’ve been thinking about and praying for the people who will receive them.” It’s a prayers-now, prayers-later winning situation.

Sister Mary Guadalupe finds that making these rosaries is another way to build and strengthen community. “I’ve been the only one tying the knots so far, but others have been helping with cutting the rope, stringing the beads, cutting and burning the ends and bundling them into groups of 25.”

“For those of us participating, it’s been a really bonding experience to share with one another the progress that we were making,” she added. “At first some of us thought that the task might be a little beyond [feasibility] but wanted to try anyway, and with our combined efforts, we are realizing that it just might a great evangelization tool.” (She explains why in the Register’s previous reporting.)

Sister Mary Alma, another one of the School Sisters of Christ the King, has seen joy in this project and highlighted a beautiful connection. She wrote, “I would say that it has been a fun project to work together on with our Sisters. I am particularly happy to do this, as Bishop Fulton Sheen was the Bishop of the Rochester Diocese in New York when I was a child. I have his name on my grade-school report cards.  So it is a little way of showing some gratitude for all he did for us as our Bishop.”

That connection to the soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen extends to the Carmelite Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Ada, Michigan. Shared one sister, “Our sisters were all very excited to have a part in the Beatification of Bishop Sheen.  We feel close to him, as he visited us many years ago.”

Sister Jude Andrew said the Ada Carmelites were one of the first groups of religious to finish their set of 1,000 rosaries. Additionally, she explained, “Their feedback was helpful so we could streamline the process and assist other groups with their wisdom.”

Msgr. Landry could not be more thankful for all these efforts, telling the Register, “I am so grateful to the women religious of the country for their willingness to help out with this project. They really are the mothers of us all in praying, particularly to Our Lady” — to whom Fulton Sheen was so greatly dedicated.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Those wanting to help make World Mission Rosaries can find the necessary details, on easily getting the inexpensive supplies (Our Lady's Rosary Makers), directions to make them and where to send them, on the official site — Help Make 75,000 Rosaries | Fulton Sheen Beatification. Anybody who wants to be reimbursed after sending the rosaries can ask The Pontifical Mission Societies for assistance.