WelCom December 2019
Elizabeth Minato
Photos: Supplied
In Westport, St Canice Parish’s Rosary Crusade has just finished for 2019. Some years ago, the Filipino community decided to start a rosary crusade based on the ‘Block Rosary’ from their homeland. A beautiful statue of Our Lady travels to a house where the household pray the rosary each day. Every three or four days during the month of October, the group gathers to pray the Rosary and share kai. Then the statue is moved to the next home. The statue travels around the parish to about 15 homes before returning to its place in the Parish Centre. Reciting the Rosary together is a wonderful way for our group to share prayers and our homes. Could you start a Rosary Crusade in your parish?
In the Philippines, the Block Rosary is a movement comprised of a group of families living in the same district who agree to come together throughout the month of October for about half an hour every evening. They recite the Rosary together around the statue of the Blessed Virgin inside or in front of one of the group’s houses. Through this movement, devotion to Mary has been renewed, many have resumed the habit of family prayer, the spirit of neighbourliness has increased, and parish associations have a new lease on life.