Bringing comfort through knotted rosaries

By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger

BETTENDORF — In 2019, Lisa Ewing learned the art of making knotted rosaries out of twine during a retreat. She shared her new ministry at Lourdes Catholic School as a before-school club, which continues. Now she is sharing her ministry at the parish level.

Carole Dolehanty, parish nurse for Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, hosted “Rosaries for Health Ministry” Nov. 14 at Lourdes with Ewing leading the event. The participants were to make rosaries for senior citizens as Christmas gifts. Assisting Ewing were youths Sophie Winters, Xavier Rogers, Noah Smith and Adam Smith. All four have been or are a part of the school’s rosary-making team.

The rosaries that Lourdes students make go to a nonprofit group that places the rosaries in a care package for families who have lost a baby due to a late miscarriage or stillbirth, Ewing said. Other rosaries go to Our Lady of the River Parish in LeClaire for its new-family packets as well as to the outgoing eighth-grade students at Lourdes and to Dolehanty. Students make some rosaries for their family and friends, too.

Ewing distributed a short length of twine to each participant for their lesson on tying knots. She said the special twine does not unravel or fray too easily. “The biggest challenge is getting started,” she said. She taught them how to make each knot for a Hail Mary, which required three wraps of twine around a finger. The Our Father knot required five.

After practice, and some help from Ewing and the youths, each participant selected a color of twine from the huge pile donated by Ewing. The youths measured 20 feet of twine and melted the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying. Some women chose to stand while making their rosary and others sat. After an hour, one had mastered four knots and another was on a second decade of the rosary.

Laura Joseph of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish said the knots for the rosaries are similar to those in macramé, which she has done before. Denise Melz, Susy Mooy and Sue O’Brien of St. John Vianney Parish and Stacia Carroll of Lourdes are part of a Bible study group and decided to participate in the rosary-making event together. “It’s therapeutic,” Carroll said. “My kids have done this, so I know I can do it,” O’Brien said.

Participants have until December to finish their rosaries for the Christmas gift project. They will add metal crucifixes. The youths planned to continue making rosaries in their spare time to donate to Dolehanty. The goal is 42 rosaries overall.