Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's Vacation Bible School Prays Mission Rosary with La Sagrada Familia

VBS Students at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in North Lake Make World Mission Rosaries for Children in the Dominican Republic

During the summer of 2011, the students from the Vacation Bible School (VBS) program at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in North Lake wanted to find a way to reach out to their sisters and brothers in La Sagrada Familia Parish in the Dominican Republic. They wanted some way to not only pray for them but to show that they were thinking about each and every one of them. They got their creative juices flowing- after all, this is the VBS program that has made personalized stuffed critters for children in the Dominican Republic in the past! They came up with the idea to encircle all children around the world in prayer by making World Mission Rosaries and then sending these very rosaries down to children in La Sagrada Familia to do the very same thing. It would be a shared connection of prayer around the world.

The World Mission Rosary is a unique way for children to pray. It not only teaches children the importance of the rosary, but also each decade, noted by a different color, represents an area of the world where missionaries work with children who are in need. Green represents the forests and grasslands of Africa; blue is for the oceans surrounding the Islands of the Pacific; white symbolizes Europe- home of the Holy Father; red represents the fire of faith that brought the first missionaries to the Americas; and yellow is for the morning light of the East, symbolizing Asia.

The students made more than 100 rosaries, which are being brought down to the children of La Sagrada Familia with a booklet in Spanish teaching them about the World Mission Rosary. Their thoughtfulness didn’t stop there, as each rosary will be accompanied by a little backpack filled with school supplies, something that the students greatly need.

We are very grateful to the organizers of the VBS program who painted paper plates to create a life-size wall mural of the World Mission Rosary to inspire their students. We also thank the students for always remembering their sisters and brothers in La Sagrada Familia! (Click here to view a brief slideshow of pictures from the Vacation Bible School.)