Pope John Paul II has recently proclaimed a "Year of the Rosary." On October 16, John Paul II celebrated his twenty-fourth year as the Pope, and wrote an apostolic letter dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. St. Josemaría had a great marian devotion – the Holy Rosary. Below are only a few things he said about this devotion.

"Take the Holy Rosary, one of the most deeply rooted of Christian devotions. The Church encourages us to contemplate its mysteries. She wants to engrave upon our heart and our imagination, together with Mary's joy and sorrow and glory, the spellbinding example of Our Lord's life, in his thirty years of obscurity, his three years of preaching, his ignominious Passion and his glorious Resurrection. (Friends of God, 299, 3)

"What is more, if you say the Holy Rosary every day, with a spirit of faith and love, Our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her Son's path. (Furrow, 691)

"For those who use their intelligence and their study as a weapon, the Rosary is most effective. Because that apparently monotonous way of beseeching Our Lady as children do their Mother, can destroy every seed of vainglory and pride. (Furrow, 474)

"Upon this living fabric of our Christian faith are woven in the vocal prayers, like jewels. Some are of divine composition: Our Father..., Hail Mary..., Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. There is as well that crown of praise to God and to our Mother, the Holy Rosary, and then so many other acclamations, full of devotion, that fellow Christians, our brothers in the faith, have recited from the very earliest times. (Friends of God, 248, 1)

"..What are the Hail Mary and the Angelus if not loving praises of her divine Motherhood? And when we say the Holy Rosary, which is a wonderful devotion which I will never tire of recommending to Christians everywhere, our minds and hearts go over the mysteries of Mary's admirable life which are, at the same time, the fundamental mysteries of our faith. (Friends of God, 290, 2) "

The Parish Rosary Program provides every parish an simple way to say YES to Our Lady. Each week, parishioners are gently invited and encouraged to pray the Rosary. As Knights, we've pledged ourselves to Mary and the Rosary....what better way to promote the rosary and to honor that pledge than a program such as this?

How to kick off and administer the program.

• Download calendar and print calendar and cover page
  Download Calendar. Download Cover Page
• Photocopy Calendar. Cut and staple.
• Distribute to parishioners and/or perpetual adoration adorers.
  i. e. Have ushers pass them out at Mass.
  Put in pews and in back of church.
  Ask Father to mention it at Mass.
• Collect rosary slips from weekly collection baskets and/or basket placed near statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• Publish weekly, year-to-date, and grand totals each week in parish bulletin.