During the Jubilee for Families in Rome, two American pilgrims are drawing attention — wearing T-shirts that read “Children’s Rosary.”

This is Blythe Kaufman, founder of the Children’s Rosary, and her son Asher — a seminarian who grew up in the movement.

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Together, they are behind a simple idea that has blossomed into a global movement of prayer.

“The Children’s Rosary began on April 10th, 2011, in West Hartford, CT in the United States,” Blythe explained.

It began with a parish in financial crisis — and a mother’s inspiration to bring children into prayer to help her parish church:

“Maybe we should bring our children to pray for our church, because the prayers of children are so strong.”

From one chapel in Connecticut, the Children’s Rosary has spread to over 45 countries. From Pakistan to Poland, Nigeria to Nicaragua, children are leading the Rosary — in classrooms, churches and homes.

“It’s such a simple approach to prayer — to pick up the rosary and have children lead. It’s spreading very naturally and broadly across the world,” Blythe added.

As children learn to lead prayer, they grow. Prayer becomes a foundation for their faith — and often, a guiding light in choosing their life path and vocation.

Asher, Seminarian & Missionary, shared, “I grew up Jewish because my father is Jewish. And so for me, I think one of the important things was that being part of the children’s rosary, I was very, very conscious also of the Catholic faith and of its teachings, and I was able to really develop a relationship with our Lord that was important for later on when I decided to convert.”

Asher’s journey from childhood prayer to the seminary is just one of many paths shaped by this quiet devotion.

He added, “I’ve been discerning a vocation to the priesthood with my archdiocese. And so I’ll be entering seminary for college seminary. But before that, I’ll be taking a year to do missionary work in Europe and Africa and working to spread the children’s rosary, working in parishes, with priests, hopefully with schools too, and really try to do our Lord’s work on the ground before entering seminary.”

Each decade of the Rosary plants seeds — of peace, of faith, and of deep transformation in the lives of those who pray.

“You want your children to be pure,” Blythe noted, “You want all these great virtues to be inculcated into your children, into your family. And so this is how you do it. This. As a mom of three children, I can say it’s really hard to raise holy children today, and we need the help of our Blessed Mother and all of these graces. Probably the simplest way to do that is to come together as a family and pray every day.”

Blythe also shared, “There’s this wonderful protection that you have when you pray together as a family. There are also graces that are available to families when they pray together as opposed to individually, St. Louis De Montfort in his book “The Secret of the Rosary” talks about the fact that when you pray together in a group, you actually receive not only the graces of your own rosary, but the other people in the rosary as well.”

One family’s prayer became many. Today, the Children’s Rosary invites every home, every heart, to rediscover the power of praying together with children.

FIND THE POPE’S BIOGRAPHY HERE

Adapted by Jacob Stein

Produced by Alexey Gotovosky; Camera by Sergio Natoli; Video Edited by Ilaria Chimenti; Special thanks & Credits: Vatican Media