The rosary is her prayer

Making, teaching this prayer guide satisfies a mission

By RENATO GANDIA
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

So it's surprising to hear someone went to that gambling and entertainment mecca to learn how to make rosaries.

But that is what Dorothy Malinowski did. She and her husband went on a long holiday to Las Vegas and when they returned, Malinowski knew how to make rosaries.

"I don't like to go to casinos because I don't like to spend my money that way."

It was during one of their visits to St. Bridget's Church in Vegas that Malinowski heard about a rosary makers' group.

"I've always wanted to make rosaries. They taught me cord and chain rosary making."

She prefers to use cord instead of chain because she can make more and the supply is cheaper. And she now shares her skills with other people. At present, her group has 17 people who regularly make rosaries, donating their finished works to missions, schools and just about anyone who needs them.

"This has been my life's desire - to do something for missions. I just hope that we can attract a lot more people so the missions will get them."

Since they began making rosaries two years ago, her group has made 3,500 rosaries which have been distributed to schools, churches - wherever there is a need.

Their rosaries go to foreign missions like Ghana, India, Kenya, Philippines, Samoa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Places in the U.S. and Canada also need rosaries.

"The pope said that the best prayer is the rosary," said Malinowski. "So we're trying to make rosaries so that people can use them in praying."

She remembers praying the rosary every day of Lent while she was growing up near Milk River in southern Alberta. Now, she prays the rosary every day with her husband.

What actually got her started sharing her skills was her involvement with the Legion of Mary in her parish, St. Edmund.

"As a legionary, you have to go out and evangelize and I don't like to talk. I feel that this is one way that I can evangelize," Malinowski explained.

"I can do more by making rosaries than by going out to talk to people."

She makes, on average, 10 rosaries a day, spending 10 minutes on each rosary.

Rosary making costs money. Malinowski spent her own money to purchase supplies from the U.S and she is looking for a Canadian supplier so they don't have to pay duty. The Knights of Columbus donated money to help them purchase supplies and St. Edmund's CWL bought beads in Edmonton.

"We get little donations throughout the year, but we need more," said Malinowski. "We also need more people to make rosaries because the demand from foreign missions is really high."

St. Edmund's Parish wants to give one rosary to every parishioner the same way Santa Maria Gorreti Parish did when it distributed 1,700 rosaries made by Malinowski's group.

To learn rosary making, contact Malinowski at (780) 454-4564.

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