The Ministry of Showing Up: The Rosary Team Brings Prayer and Companionship to Seniors Nationwide
- Guest Contributor
- Jun 22
- 4 min read
Founded in Colorado, the growing ministry now serves nursing homes and assisted living communities in 30 states.
By Teresa Rodriguez
In Boulder County, a group of volunteers gathers around tables spread with gemstones and glass beads, crucifixes and centerpieces. They handcraft rosaries, praying for the person who will receive each one, helping support a ministry that brings prayer, companionship and hope to seniors in nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country.
This fall, that work will receive special recognition when Denver Archbishop James Golka visits a Rosary Team at an assisted living community for National Grandparents Day, a sign of the Church's growing support for a ministry that has quietly spread to 30 states.
What started in the Denver Archdiocese as a single Rosary Team serving local seniors has grown into a national ministry that builds and supports Rosary Teams in senior living communities throughout the United States. Today, more than 300 Rosary Teams serve facilities in 30 states, with over 800 volunteers making weekly visits. Together, volunteers and residents pray more than 120,000 Rosaries each year.
For many residents, the visits come at a reflective time of life.
"It's quite a wake-up call when you move into a facility like this," said resident Marty Todd in a previous Denver Catholic article.
Since arriving, she has watched 20 to 25 people die in a single year, some who "seemed really vital and just didn't wake up one morning." The proximity to death changes things.
"We all realize we're getting closer to the end of life," she said. "I think we ponder a little more about what it will be."
Each week, Rosary Team volunteers gather with residents, pray the Rosary together and, over time, become familiar, trusted faces in these often-forgotten facilities.
For lead rosary maker Dalal Schneider, the connection between the rosaries and the residents they serve is deeply personal.
"When I began praying the Rosary with residents at Balfour [an assisted living facility], it warmed my heart getting to know these seniors and praying for their intentions each week," Schneider shared. "When we started making rosaries as a fundraiser, I discovered it was truly a passion. I love meeting the men and women who join us, and I've learned so much from them as I continue to grow in my faith."
Paul and Barb Eberhart, who make rosaries together, describe the experience as one that has deepened both their marriage and their faith.
"We always pray for the future rosary recipients and their intentions, but I feel that making the rosaries is itself a prayer, a very powerful prayer. As we make each rosary together, Barb and I have grown closer, and our faith is stronger," Paul said.
"One thing is common across every facility I visit, the hugs, the hand holding and the thanks at the end of the Rosary. What moves me most is the residents who aren't Catholic but truly enjoy the prayer time and togetherness," Barb added. "The time we give to make rosaries helps The Rosary Team spread that goodness."
The Rosary Team's shop carries handmade gemstone and glass rosaries that many supporters purchase as gifts for family and friends. Each purchase helps support the ministry's work of building and sustaining Rosary Teams across the country.
How to Get Involved
The Rosary Team is growing, and there are several ways to be part of it.
On June 11, Catholics across the United States consecrated the nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus alongside our bishops gathered in Florida. It's a fitting moment to consider how each of us might accompany those who are closest to meeting him, the elderly men and women in facilities nearby who are waiting and hoping someone will come to pray with them.
Become a Rosary Team volunteer. The Rosary Team will connect you with a facility and walk you through the process. No special training is required, just a willingness to show up and pray. Teams are especially needed in communities that have already reached out to the ministry asking for one.
Join The Rosary Making Team in Boulder. If you enjoy working with your hands and want to support the mission in a tangible way, consider joining the team. Rosary makers work together and contribute to something that reaches well beyond their tables.
Become a Prayer Champion. Not everyone can volunteer in person or make rosaries, but everyone can pray. Prayer Champions commit to daily prayer for residents, volunteers and the growth of new Rosary Teams across the country. Each day, The Rosary Team consecrates its volunteers, donors and residents to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Prayer Champions are the steady force behind that work.
The Rosary Team's goal is bold: a Rosary Team in every nursing home in America.
For more information, visit The Rosary Team's website.
