Rosary mission's goal is to strengthen the family

Intermountain Catholic

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BOUNTIFUL – A new effort at St. Olaf Parish is working to bring change to the community, nation and world through prayer. The 1 in 10 Rosary Mission, which started in early November, seeks to get at least 10 percent of St. Olaf parishioners saying the rosary daily.

St. Olaf parishioner Mike Dovel heard from his aunt about a 1 in 10 Rosary Mission launched last January by Archbishop Eamon Martin, prelate of Ireland. Similar missions have been held in Hungary and Poland.

“What they found was that when they reached the goal of one in 10 Catholics praying the rosary in Hungary, the whole country was transformed and became much more oriented toward family life and pro-life views,” Dovel said.

Dovel said he and his wife, Andrea, pray the rosary daily. Hearing about the 1 in 10 Rosary Mission, he asked his pastor, Father Andrzej Skrzypiec, for permission to organize the ministry in the parish.

“It was something that was personally very important to me and my family; we have a very strong dedication to the rosary,” he said. “When we pray the rosary together, we have a much closer family connection; things go much more smoothly in our family.”

So far, about 22 families and individuals have signed up to participate in the mission. If interest grows, Dovel hopes to put signups online.

“The hope is that we can get the momentum to keep this thing going” for people to make praying the rosary, one or several decades, part of their daily lives, Dovel said.

As they participate in the Rosary Mission, parishioners pray that family values will be strengthened and reinforced in the world, along with an end to abortion.

Dovel would like to see the mission grow beyond St. Olaf Parish.

“If we can get 30,000 people in Utah signed up to pray the rosary, then we will have reached our goal,” he said.

Dovel said the erosion of family values and lack of support for families could be stemmed through these efforts.

“The family is weakening in America,” he said. “There are only two states – Utah and South Dakota – that are having enough children to support the ongoing generations. So I think that we need to return to family values in our country. I recognize how powerful prayer is. There is so little we can do, that I can do as a person; but if we pray about it – and I recognize the power God has shown in other countries – then God will hopefully bring our country back to family values.”

Dovel has gathered resources, including a website template, that he would be happy to share with other individuals or parishes wishing to launch a 1 in 10 Rosary Mission. He can be reached at 801-797-4497.