A parish-based, rosary-making ministry in Kentucky is on a mission to create 1,000 World Mission Rosaries for the beatification of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.

The apostolate, called the Brothers and Sisters of St. Edward, is among many U.S. groups whose rosaries will be donated to people attending the Sept. 24 beatification of Archbishop Sheen in St. Louis.

The Pontifical Mission Societies issued a call for rosaries on May 1, asking individuals and groups to donate 1,000 or more rosaries to the cause as a collective effort. The society’s goal is to have more than 70,000 rosaries by Sept. 15 so they can be distributed to all those present on the day of the beatification.

“The challenge is real. More than 75,000 rosaries are needed. There is no supply at that scale, and even limited inventory quickly becomes cost-prohibitive,” according to the society’s website. “Whether you make 100 or 1,000, every rosary becomes part of something larger. Each one will be blessed before the Beatification. Each one will continue to be prayed long after that day is over.”

Sheen designed the rosary as national director

The World Mission Rosary was designed by Archbishop Sheen, who served as national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. The renowned communicator announced during his “Catholic Hour” radio broadcast on Feb. 11, 1951, “Peace will come only when the hearts of the world have changed. To do this, we must pray, and not for ourselves, but for the world!” according to materials provided in the World Mission Rosary kits.

The idea to put a call out for tens of thousands of rosaries began with Sister Jude Andrew Link, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist who lives in Peoria, Ill., the city where Archbishop Sheen was ordained a priest and where a chapel in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception houses his tomb. Sister Jude Andrew proposed the idea to Msgr. Roger Landry, Pontifical Mission Societies’ national director since January 2025, who brought the idea to fruition.

Groups across the country answer the call

In response, rosary-making groups across the United States, from members of Divine Mercy Parish in Kenner, La., to the Franciscan Sisters of Dillingen in Hankinson, N.D., have invited local Catholics to make rosaries for the beatification. In Royal Oak, Mich., the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica will offer its second two-hour rosary-making workshop Aug. 13 to help the Pontifical Mission Societies meet its goal. In Lufkin, Texas, the Cloistered Dominican Nuns Monastery of the Infant Jesus completed 1,000 rosaries.

In the Louisville suburb of Jeffersontown, 14 St. Edward rosary makers gathered for a crafting session the morning of July 6 at St. Edward Church to work toward their 1,000-rosary goal.

Kentucky crafters learn the tradition

As they gathered, Debbie Grisanti, a member of St. Edward Church, explained the significance of the World Mission Rosary. Archbishop Sheen asked his radio listeners to “make a tour of the world on your World Mission Rosary.”

“Each of the decades is a different color,” she said, noting that each color represents a different continent. The first decade is green, which represents the grasslands of Africa. Blue represents the oceans of the Pacific Islands. The third decade is white and represents Europe and the seat of the Holy Father. Red recalls the fire of faith that brought missionaries to the Americas. Finally, yellow represents Asia’s morning light of the East.

Dotty Pate brought the idea to a group of fellow parishioners who were already crafting rosaries through Our Lady of the Rosary Makers, a nonprofit organization in Louisville.

During the July session, Rita McCubbin sat beside Pate, who taught her, and other first-timers, the proper way to make corded rosaries. McCubbin plans to attend the beatification this fall.

Minnesota volunteers work toward 10,000 rosaries

A similar gathering of rosary makers is taking place 750 miles northwest of Jeffersontown in Watertown, Minn., where volunteers meet every Thursday in the basement of the local parish church, Immaculate Conception, to progress in their goal of producing 10,000 World Mission rosaries by September.

They are organized under Spike Ministries, an industrious and committed nonprofit organization that hopes to share its enthusiasm for the rosary with an ambitious goal of involving as many people and parish groups as possible in making and distributing rosaries to missions around the globe.

Since the group began making five rosaries a week in a member’s basement about 12 years ago, the Watertown group has reached an ongoing tally of over 225,000 rosaries, according to organizer and Spike Ministries founder Mike Miller.

Other dioceses and communities join the effort

Across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the St. Mary of the Lake Rosary Makers group has also been meeting regularly to create rosaries and share in the social and spiritual camaraderie of friends united in a cause. Their cause now is creating 2,000 World Mission rosaries by September.

In Clyde, Mo., the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration have committed to contributing 500 rosaries to the cause.

“Having learned of the project only in May, time has been tight,” said Benedictine Sister Lynn Marie D’Souza, according to a story posted July 24 on the community’s website, “but several of us have been steadily working on the effort ever since.”

Mary-Catherine Kinslow is a staff reporter for The Record, news outlet of the Archdiocese of Louisville. This story also drew from a report by Tim Montgomery for The Catholic Spirit, news outlet for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. OSV News contributed to this story. Reporting included in this article was separately published by The Record and The Catholic Spirit and distributed in partnership with OSV News.