Centerville students make rosaries at home

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By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger

Religious education students at St. Mary Parish in Centerville participate in a rosary project to inspire them to memorize the Hail Mary prayer. “What better way to get them to memorize the Hail Mary than to have them say it 53 times,” said Tanya Moore, a catechist for first- and second-graders.

Contributed
Elsie Sacco, a second-grader at St. Mary Parish in Centerville, shows off the rosary she made at home. Religious education students selected beads and string to take home on March 4.

In past years, students created paper chain rosaries in class, writing the appropriate prayer on each paper slip in the chain. They also participated in living rosaries, with each student representing a bead. The common denominator is that the projects are completed in class.

Perhaps it was providential that this year’s project was intended to be completed at home. Catechists asked students on March 4 to choose beads and string to make rosaries at home with family members, unaware that the COVID-19 coronavirus would soon require everyone to stay at home. In mid-March, the Diocese of Davenport suspended public worship and in-person religious education due to the pandemic. The take-home project “worked out,” Moore said.

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Mary Oden was among several parents and grandparents who have sent photos to the catechists of kids displaying their finished rosaries. She said her daughter, Elsie Sacco, enjoyed selecting white and clear beads to make the rosary her own.

Kathy Cossolotto helped her twin granddaughters Tamzie and Harper Cossolotto make rosaries. Harper chose blue beads and Tamzie chose pink beads to bring home. Their grandfather participated by tying the final knots. “The girls are very proud of the rosaries they created,” Kathy Cossolotto said.

She cherished the opportunity to help her granddaughters with the project. She prays the rosary daily, and the girls have witnessed her praying it in the past. While making the rosaries, “the girls wanted to know about the mysteries. We talked about the prayers for each bead,” Kathy Cossolotto said. “I really like sharing my love for the rosary for others to pray.”


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