Free rosaries are “a gift that keeps on giving.”

James Finn, chancellor of the Knights of Columbus Sagadahoc Council 249 in Bath, has watched the process for over two years, and it still never ceases to amaze him.

“Due to the ongoing generosity of the Catholics worshiping at St. Mary Church in Bath, we never run out of them,” he said.

A rosary sits on a window sill at St. Mary Church in Bath. Photo contributed by Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland

The free rosaries are continually donated by the Knights, parishioners and clergy, particularly the Rev. Peter Uhde, a retired priest serving in All Saints Parish, of which St. Mary Church is a part.

“The Knights place the rosaries on the window sills at St. Mary Church,” Finn said. “With one year off due to COVID-19, the routine resumed about six months ago. In that time, over 340 rosaries have been picked up by attendees at weekend liturgies.”

The rosary is a sequence of beads on a strand with a coinciding prayer for every bead, typically with a cross or crucifix as the main adornment. Saying the rosary is Catholic tradition, but anyone can do it.

“Praying together in this way brings prayer into daily life and helps our young to see it as important,” Bishop Robert Deeley said. “I am convinced that my vocation to priesthood was nurtured in my home where, at the end of the day, we prayed the rosary together as a family. The rosary contains the simple prayers of the church. They are the first prayers we learn. In the praying of them, we come to know the truths they contain: God loves us, he cares for us, he has a plan for us which calls us to serve each other, and he wants us to be with him eternally in heaven.”

To learn how to pray the rosary, visit usccb.org/how-to-pray-the-rosary.