By Celine Klosterman
Since Father Bill Kneemiller began inviting Catholics to make rosaries for U.S. troops and Iowa families in 2011, he’s gotten calls from places as far away as Texas and Washington state, he said.
Last month Liz McDermott, a member of Our Lady of the River Parish in LeClaire, took materials for the rosary-making ministry even farther — to Haiti. There three members of the local St. Vincent de Paul Society earned $2.50 for each of the two-dozen rosaries they assembled. They donated the proceeds to the society to help Haitians in need. McDermott, who frequently travels to the impoverished nation through the organization ServeHaiti, hopes to bring materials for at least 200 more rosaries to Haiti in June.
She and Fr. Kneemiller, pastor of parishes in Grand Mound, Toronto, Lost Nation and Oxford Junction, were inspired last year to collaborate on the project.
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