42 Years, 180,000 Rosaries

The St. Agnes Rosary Makers in Dalton, Massachusetts, have made and shipped more than 180,000 Rosaries over the past 42 years. They continue to meet weekly and show no signs
of stopping.

Thirteenth of the Month Club member Pam Brennan said her group first assembled in the mid-1970s before the world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima visited western Massachusetts. She and several women were tasked with crafting 20,000 Brown Scapulars for the occasion.

She said, "When we finished after the statue left, we still wanted to gather, so we thought, 'Why not make Rosaries for the missions?'"

They had their first meeting to make Rosaries on Jan. 22, 1976. Since then, Pam and several local women have continued to meet weekly, breaking only during the summer months, to make plastic Rosaries to send to missions in India.

Occasionally, they receive requests from local nursing homes and CCD programs. "They're always available for anyone locally who needs them. We're more than happy to give them," she said.

When the group meets, first they chat over coffee for about an hour. Then they pray the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and a chaplet for the souls in Purgatory. "We also go around the table and say our petitions," Pam said.

"It's almost like a support group," she continued. "People who have been widowed come, different people who have had grief in their life. It's just so nice, because we've all been through things."

Once per month, they make Rosaries with patients at the local nursing homes. "It's very rewarding for them knowing that they're doing something for someone else," Pam said. "Some of the elderly members make their Rosaries in their homes, and our regular members make them at home as well as here."

Ken Lussier of Pittsfield, Massachusetts,(pictured above) has personally made more than 10,000 Rosary beads.

Pam said that many members have come and gone over the years. "The requests for Rosaries do not slacken, but some of the older members are slowing down, having reached their 90s." she said. "[Many] have gone on to their eternal life. But we gather new members through the years."
CRBK

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