Father Joseph Phung and religious education students from St. Mary Parish in Oskaloosa pose for a photo with a cupcake rosary at the parish’s Hail Mary Challenge kick-off party in February.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
OSKALOOSA — Members of St. Mary Parish in Oskaloosa prayed 147,116 Hail Marys during Lent this year, motivated by faith and an opportunity to share the joy of their achievement with Bishop Dennis Walsh.
The pastor, Father Joseph Phung, encouraged parishioners to pray more than 100,000 Hail Marys during Lent as part of the parish’s annual Hail Mary Challenge. St. Mary’s kicked off the challenge the weekend before Ash Wednesday with a Lenten presentation and explanation of Mary’s role in the Church. Participants made rosaries and enjoyed cupcakes arranged in the shape of a rosary.
During Lent, parishioners filled out cards indicating how many Hail Marys they had prayed. The cards also included space for the faithful to share what they were praying for and how they were fasting and almsgiving during Lent.
Father Phung updated parishioners weekly during Mass. “People started getting excited” as the number drew closer to 100,000, said Jenny Feudner, the parish’s director of religious education and youth ministry. “It was kind of a fun thing to do.”
The challenge began several years ago among faith formation students as a way to encourage families to pray more at home, Feudner said. Religious education leaders boosted engagement by offering to do something funny or amusing if youths reached their goal, such as dressing up like a chicken or dying their hair purple. Youth consistently exceeded their goals, and staff increased the number of prayers each year in response.
The incentives changed as the contest shifted to include the entire parish community. This year, parish staff invited Bishop Walsh to celebrate Mass on Good Shepherd Sunday, April 26, as an added incentive to reach their 100,000 prayer goal. Bishop Walsh administered the sacrament of Confirmation to youth from St. Mary parishes in Oskaloosa and Pella last year at the Pella church, and the Oskaloosa parish looked forward to spending more time with him and learning about his ministry as a bishop, she added. “The idea of Bishop (Walsh) coming, just for us, everyone looked forward to that,” Feudner said. The goal was more than achievable, she believed; last year, parishioners logged just shy of that total.
Faith formation leaders incorporated the Hail Mary into their curriculum during Lent, and parishioners engaged in praying the rosary at home and in parish groups, Feudner said. “We want to really have it flourish in our families.”
The parish crossed the 100,000 threshold during Holy Week, and that number continued to climb as parishioners finished turning in their cards. On average, each of the 273 families in the parish prayed about 540 Hail Marys during Lent. “The fact that we did 47,000 more Hail Marys than we needed showed me how much people wanted the bishop to come,” Feudner said. “I’m super happy… people came through even stronger than last year.”
