A PRIMARY 3 pupil in the Archdiocese of Glasgow was recently able to supply some 1600 pupils in schools in the city’s east end with their own Mission Rosary and has set his sights on expanding his faithful mission.
John Ewing, a pupil at St Paul’s Primary School in Tollcross was gifted a Mission Rosary previously during a visit from Missio Scotland to his school and was so taken with it that he wanted children from his school to each have their own.
Having successfully achieved that last year—as well as providing the children of St Timothy’s with a Mission Rosary too—John has now set his sights on widening his campaign out and has enlisted the help of Archbishop William Nolan of Glasgow in providing more Mission Rosaries to pupils so that they can pray The Rosary to help make the world a better place.
The letter that John wrote to the archbishop, outlining his own personal mission and even explaining the poignant slogan he devised for his campaign reads as follows:
Dear Archbishop Nolan
I hope that you can help me. I need you to support my children’s Rosary mission. I don’t need any money, just a letter of support.
Two years ago, I used my pocket money to buy Rosaries for all the kids in Primary 1 in my school, St Paul’s in Tollcross. Last year, we bought 400 Rosaries and shared them between St Paul’s and St Timothy’s.
St Barnabus and St Mark’s parish helped me raise the money last year. This year, I had enough money to buy 1600 Rosaries from Missio Scotland in time for the Month of Mary in May.
The big plan is to give all the children in Glasgow’s primary schools a Rosary eventually. This year, we will have enough for St Michael’s, St Anne’s, St Denis and maybe one more school.
Our slogan is ‘beads are seeds, help plant the seed of prayer and let Glasgow flourish again.’
St John Ogilvie gave his Rosary to the crowds in Glasgow and we can do that too. Can you support us with a letter to give to the schools asking the children to pray the Rosary to make the world a better place?
Thank you, John Ewing Primary 3B, St Paul’s Primary School.
John also informed Archbishop Nolan that he had designed a poster for the campaign, a copy of which he shared with him.
Archbishop Nolan wasted no time in replying to the faithful young man and pledged his support for the campaign stating: “Dear John, thank you for writing to me about your initiative to provide all the children in Glasgow primary schools with a Rosary. Congratulations on raising enough money this year to supply 1600 Rosaries.
“I would urge the children in all our schools to pray the Rosary during the month of May to make the world a better place. With all my prayers and good wishes, William Nolan, Archbishop of Glasgow.”
John’s dad—also called John—couldn’t hide his pride at his son’s efforts and hoped that it would reiterate, to young Catholics throughout the archdiocese, the power of prayer.
“The Rosaries are now making their way into the hands of the schoolkids,” he said. “Fr Liam [McMahon] read out John's letter to Archbishop Nolan to St Michael's Primary School pupils recently and he told me it went very well. The kids loved the Rosaries and the service.
“It's a great thing to have all the kids praying the Rosary together. It’s about making memories for them, it builds their Catholic community identity and introduces them to the power of prayer, which will serve them well throughout their life and will lead them towards Heaven.”
The Mission Rosary was created in 1951 by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who was the National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (Missio) in the United States. He saw the need to pray for the whole world, especially for those living in poverty and so created a special Rosary with colour coded decades each representing a continent where the Church continues her mission.
Africa is represented by the green decade for its forests and grasslands
The Americas are red to show the fire of faith
Europe is white because it is the home of the Holy Father who dresses in white and lives in Rome
Oceania is shown in blue for the oceans surrounding the islands there
Asia is portrayed in yellow as a symbol of the sun rising in the East
“When the Rosary is completed, one has embraced all continents, all people in prayer,” Archbishop Sheen said.
The prayer unites us with our brothers and sisters whom we have never met and who are praying for us too in an exchange of love and friendship.
To learn more about the Mission Rosary and how it can be used in your school or parish, visit: https://www.missioscotland.com/resources
To purchase a Mission Rosary of your own, priced at just 60p, visit: https://www.missioscotland.com/product-page/mission-rosary