Emma Trujillo was preparing the activity room at Elkhorn’s Holton Manor Nursing Home just before Christmas to pray the Rosary with residents.
“That day, a woman was at one of the tables. I met her before; she had been raised Catholic all her life and attended Catholic school from K-12,” Trujillo said. “Let me just say, she was not too fond of her Catholic roots and unfortunately did not want anything to do with us.”
Trujillo politely informed the woman that they were planning to pray the Rosary, and she was more than welcome to stay, but she had to move her table to make room for the others. The woman was unhappy and told Trujillo she was where she needed to be and that they had to go.
“Again, I politely explained to her that everyone expects to come here to pray, and we have to move the tables, but she could stay. She accused us of kicking her out and even threw in a little curse word or two in there. At that point, I started gathering the residents. Lo and behold, her favorite person came to pray, so she decided to stay,” said Trujillo. “Not only did she stay, but she prayed the entire Rosary out loud with us. At the end of the prayer, with her glossy, watery eyes, and a smile on her face, she thanked us. She came again the following week. We were amazed. One of the volunteers said, ‘God works in mysterious ways.’”
Every Saturday morning, Trujillo and three other volunteers, all members of St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn, visit Holton Manor and lead the Rosary with some of the residents.
The volunteers are part of the Rosary Team, a nationwide group who visit nursing homes and memory care facilities to pray the Rosary with residents.
After learning about the Rosary Team from a radio program, Trujillo contacted the national group for information on how to begin.
The Rosary Team began in 2019 at a memory care facility in Boulder, Colorado. Teresa Rodriguez founded the organization while working as a hospice nurse. She noticed many entertainment opportunities for residents but very minimal spiritual support.
“The Rosary Team started when I asked a memory care facility if they would like volunteers to pray the Rosary with their residents, and to my surprise, they said ‘Yes,’” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez enlisted a friend from her parish to help her lead the Rosary. Not long after, one resident’s family asked if someone could lead more days of the Rosary.
“I felt excited that they desired more volunteers to lead the Rosary, even though I had thought I was done with just one Rosary Team in place and got to work finding more volunteers from local parishes,” Rodriguez said. “At this facility in Louisville, Colorado, we have a team of eight volunteers leading the Rosary three days a week for the past five years.”
Endorsed by Archbishop Samuel J Aquila of Denver, the Rosary Team has expanded to 18 states. The organization gathers and supports volunteers who dedicate one hour weekly to praying at nursing homes. Creating a structured routine, each group of volunteers visits the same nursing home at the same time each week. The volunteers perform a corporal work of mercy while building relationships with residents and returning some of them to their faith.
One day, while praying with residents, Rodriguez felt inspired to ask the Blessed Mother what they were doing with this ministry.
“I immediately realized that this was ‘The Rosary Team,’ and I knew then that she had a plan. I help her plan unfold daily, even though I don’t know all the details for the future,” Rodriguez said. “After COVID, I wondered if other nursing homes would like volunteers to lead the Rosary for their residents, and as I called, the facilities were all telling me ‘Yes’ and their residents would love this. Over three years ago, the realization of this need became apparent, and I formed a nonprofit organization because this is a big project requiring many volunteers and donors to hire staff to coordinate the volunteers. There are over 50,000 nursing homes in the United States and more worldwide.”
Not only do the residents of Holton Manor appreciate the Rosary Team, but the employees are also grateful for their presence. One of the activity coordinators regularly prays the entire Rosary with the group.
“I’m thankful we can serve our Lord and the residents in this small but beautiful way. You get to know the residents and grow close to them,” said Trujillo. “Two of our regulars recently passed away. Most residents have a hard time speaking, so they pretty much listen. Some fall asleep, but this particular resident was very sharp in her mind, and she would always pray along with us. I really enjoyed that. She then began to deteriorate and then passed. Another was a ray of sunshine. She was always very happy and would light up the room with her presence. It was sad because she had dementia, but it was always so nice to see her. She passed away suddenly. I think her death impacted my daughter and me the most. There is another resident who is not Catholic, but she would come and pray along with us. I really enjoy seeing the residents.”
For more information on the Rosary Team and how to join, visit therosaryteam.org.
