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The Rosary for the Dead

“My friends, let us pray much and let us obtain many prayers from others for the poor dead. The good God will return to us a hundredfold the good we do them. Ah! If every one knew how useful to those who practice it is this devotion to the holy souls in Purgatory, they would not be so often forgotten; the good God regards all we do for them as if it were done for Himself” (St. John Vianney, Curé d’Ars).

In the mid-nineteenth century, Abbé Serre of the Chapel of the Hôtel Dieu at Nismes, France, composed the rosary for the dead for the benefit of the poor suffering souls in Purgatory. The chaplet was promoted by the Archconfraternity of Notre Dame du Suffrage.

The chaplet consists of four decades of ten beads each. In its original form, the chaplet had a medal of the Archconfraternity, representing the souls in Purgatory. The chaplet may also have five introductory beads as found on the Dominican rosary.

The De Profundis (Psalm 130) is said upon the cross, at the beginning and the ending of the chaplet. Anyone who is not familiar with that prayer may substitute an Our Father and a Hail Mary. The Requiem Eternam (“Eternal rest grant unto them, etc.”) and the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity are said on the large beads, and on the small beads is said “Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.”

This sacramental has generated much interest and curiosity. People seem to find it a beautiful devotion by which to remember, especially, their beloved dead as well as the other souls in Purgatory. Today, the chaplet is available for purchase in many religious goods stores, made of a variety of materials.

- Mission Mentions -

A Friend in Mexico

Many thanks to Miguel McDonald for sending us the photos from the new church at San José Dixiñado. He met Father Lawrence Moran, C.S.B., in Calvary in 1978 when Father Moran visited St. Mary’s High School where Miguel was teaching. In a talk about his life as a missionary in Mexico, Father Moran said that it was one thing to hear about life there and very different to experience it. He encouraged Miguel to take a group of his students to visit, which Miguel did for several years. Miguel says this was a life changing experience for him. He now lives in Mexico, and works for the Diocese of Guerrero.


First Mass in New Church – a Dream Come True

Saturday, May 19, the community at San José Dixiñado gathered for their annual “fiesta” of St. Joseph, and “Padre Juan” Boscoe celebrated the first Mass ever in the new church that is being built.

This was a dream come true for the people, who ahead of all their other needs had placed the need for God’s house in their community. They began work by purchasing bricks for the chapel themselves at a great sacrifice, for about eight cents apiece. Friends of the Basilian Fathers Missions lent a hand and today their dream has come true.


A Missionary’s Job

Father Manuel Hernández Estévez, a Spanish Discalced Carmelite, lives in a monastery very near Baghdad, Iraq. The area where he lives has been a constant scene of attacks over the last months. When asked about missionary life, he had this to say: “Those of us who have been in missions all our life are guided by other parameters. We must give witness of the love of Jesus to these people, being with them in good and bad times.”


Food in Bogota

Each week, Father Vince Thompson and the Basilians in Barrio Egipto, a very poor area on the mountainside above Bogota, Colombia, distribute rice, milk and bread to nearly two hundred people. The people come in groups to receive food, some instruction on the faith or commentary on the Scriptures and current information on plans or happenings of their parish, especially about training programs that are being offered in carpentry, bakery, sewing or handicrafts Most, about 68% are women, 60% are 55 years old or older. One person of every three in Colombia suffers from hunger. This is a poor urban neighborhood and these people are among the poorest. The Basilians are helping the young people with training programs so they can become more self-sufficient.