Rosaries Galore! 50,000 of them at Rosario Cathedral ‘450th Anniversary’ Expo
Rosaries Galore! 50,000 of them at Rosario Cathedral ‘450th Anniversary’ Exhibition -This expo is organized as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Rosario Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary- and it is also the first Roman Catholic Church built in 1568. The importance of the Rosary is brought to limelight and held as a preparation for ‘The Year of the Rosary – 2018’, from November 9 to November 12 between 10 am to 8 pm everyday at Rosario Cathedral Cultural Hall- and the best part is that, admission for the Expo is FREE!
“Say the Rosary every day…Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for sinners…I’m Our Lady of the Rosary. Only I will be able to help you….In the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph.”- Our Lady at Fatima
Mangaluru: Rosary is a chain of beads used by Catholics during prayer dedicated to Mother Mary. The word Rosary means “Crown of Roses”. Our Lady has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. The rose is the queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of all devotions and it is therefore the most important one. The Holy Rosary is considered a perfect prayer because within it lies the awesome story of our salvation. With the Rosary in fact we meditate the mysteries of joy, of sorrow and the glory of Jesus and Mary. It’s a simple prayer, humble so much like Mary.
It’s a prayer we can all say together with Her, the Mother of God. With the Hail Mary we invite Her to pray for us. Our Lady always grants our request. She joins Her prayer to ours. Therefore it becomes ever more useful, because what Mary asks She always receives, Jesus can never say no to whatever His Mother asks for. In every apparition, the heavenly Mother has invited us to say the Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil, to bring us to true peace. With your prayer made together with Your heavenly Mother, you can obtain the great gift of bringing about a change of hearts and conversion. Each day, through prayer you can drive away from yourselves and from your homeland many dangers and many evils.
The Blessed Holy Father John Paul II on October 16th, 2002 with the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary has added 5 new mysteries of the Rosary: The Mysteries of the Light. The whole Rosary is composed of twenty decades. Each decade is recited in honor of a mystery in Our Lord’s Life and that of His Blessed Mother. The Mysteries of the Rosary: JOYFUL on Monday and Saturday; LIGHT on Thursday; SORROWFUL on Tuesday and Friday; and GLORIOUS on Wednesday and Sunday.
The importance of the Rosary is brought to limelight by Rosario Cathedral-Mangaluru, on the eve of its 450th anniversary through a “Rosary Exhibition”, held as a preparation for ‘The Year of the Rosary – 2018’, from November 9 to November 12 between 10 am to 8 pm everyday at Rosario Cathedral Cultural Hall. The exhibition inaugurated today, 9 November will last for 4 days until 12 November- and the best part is that, admission for the Expo is FREE! The inauguration ceremony of the Rosary Exhibition was held at Rosario Auditorium, which began with a prayer invoking God’s blessings sung by the Sisters of St Ann’s Convent and Ashanikethan-Mangaluru.
In his welcome address Fr J B Crasta-Parish Priest of Rosario Cathedral said, ” While I wanted to have something unique for the 450th Anniversary of the Cathedral, I thought of having a Rosary exhibition, since our Cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of Rosary- and it is also the first Roman Catholic Church built in 1568. With Rs 50,000 in my hand I travelled to Kerala to buy Rosaries for this Expo. But luckily I found my friend in Kerala who suggested that a person by the name of Sabu Caiter has over 50,000 Rosaries in collection, and he would surely help me out. Meeting Sabu, it was all finalized to have this beautiful Rosary exhibition- and my sincere thanks to Sabu to make this happen, and this being his 125th Rosary exhibition.”
” The Expo comprises of over 50,000 rosaries from 80 different countries of the world which includes those that are blessed by Saints, St John Paul the second and Mother Theresa. It also has nearly 200 statues of Mother Mary in different shapes and 100 Crosses, nearly 700 other statues and 400 Relics- all collections of Sabu, a layman.The exhibition is intended to help the devotees to meditate mysteries of Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith and look after our families with love. The Exhibition also includes those Rosaries that are blessed by St John Paul II and Mother Teresa. This is a first-of-its-kind exhibition in undivided Dakshina Kannada district and Sabu wants to enter Guinness world record by organizing more of such expos. His family has dedicated itself to organise such exhibitions across the country free of cost. I want a large number of Catholics to come and patronize this Expo” added Fr Crasta.
The Rosary Exhibition was inaugurated by Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese Rev Fr Aloysius Paul D’souza, along with other dignitaries namely Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Mangaluru; MLA J R Lobo, Roy Castelino- Former President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy; Sabu Caiter, among others, by cutting the ribbon and lighting the Diyas placed around a Rosary. Addressing the gathering the Bishop said, ” We should be all grateful to Sabu for his efforts in collecting thousands of Rosaries, and today displaying them at this Expo for us to view. Like Pope John Paul II had said that Rosary was his favorite prayer, we also need to follow in his footsteps and say Rosary daily and not ignore it”.
“Even though you don’t like to wear it around your neck, but make it a point tos ay Rosary daily before meals or after. My family never missed a single day without saying the Rosary. Also when I used to ride around on my scooter, I had the habit of saying Rosary, and it has helped me a lot- where I never been a accident. The Rosary is arguably the most recognizable Catholic devotion. Sadly, it is a devotion that has fallen out of fashion for many Catholics. Among the most common excuses for failing to pray the Rosary one hears are that it’s “boring” or that it takes too much time. What many Catholics aren’t aware of, however, are the benefits – promises from Our Lady herself – associated with its faithful recitation.” added the Bishop.
Bishop concluded saying, “Daily recitation of the Rosary will help you get to know your Mother better. By getting to know Mary better, you will in turn get to know Jesus better. When you look at each mystery of the Rosary, you reflect upon different aspects of Jesus’ life through the eyes of His mother. Mothers know and see their children much differently than others do. Blessed Pope Pius IX said, “Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.” This is how powerful the Rosary is. And of course, Our Lady of Fatima said, “Pray the Rosary daily.” If there is any reason why the Rosary is not recited as often today as it was in the past, you can be certain that Satan himself is behind it. The inconvenience of praying the Rosary daily, which can seem at first tedious or burdensome, grows lighter with every recitation. Let us equip ourselves for battle. Make a commitment to pray the Rosary every day – and keep it.”
Speaking during the occasion and thanking Sabu for his contribution in the form of this Exhibition MLA J R Lobo said, ” As they say that a Family that says a prayer/Rosary stays together- and through this exhibition one should be convinced and motivated to start the habit of saying Rosary daily, no matter how their busy schedule is. I remember praying with my family daily, but nowadays due to my political activities I may skip saying the Rosary. But many of you have enough time that you can sacrifice to say the Rosary, and make it a habit daily. Like Pope John Paul II had exhorted that the Rosary is and always has been, a prayer of and for the family, it is important that we all not lose this precious inheritance. We need to return to the practice of family prayer and prayer for families, continuing to use Rosary”.
The main Highlights of exhibition are : Rosaries used by St Mother Teresa; Rosaries blessed by St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVIth; Some of them more than 200 years old. It also features a chair which was seated by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Bajpe-Mangaluru on 6 February 1986. Large number of people, including students visited the Rosary Exhibition on the First day.
Interaction with Sabu Caiter, aged 51- an entrepreneur/Stock/Share Broker, and also the Collector of over 50,000 Rosaries displayed at the Exhibition:
Sabu Caiter from North Paravur- Kerala is a businessman by profession and Rosary collector by passion. He has a collection of more than 50,000 rosaries, and some of these include rosaries used by St Mother Teresa and blessed by St Pope John Paul II. He is trying for the Limca Book of Records in 2018 by having a collection of 50,865 Rosaries, to beat the Record. He is also planning on entering the Guinness Book of World Record in the nearest future. The longest Rosary featured in this exhibition is with 1000 beads, made in Kerala. Sabu is joined by his wife Benetta at the exhibition- he has a son named Francis Aghil, doing his I B Com at St Albert’s College-Kerala. Both of them help him out in assembling his collection.
Narrating his story of Rosary Collection to Team Mangalorean, Sabu Caiter said, ” I was 13 when my grandfather died. As he was about to be buried, I grabbed the rosary that was placed on his chest. I wanted to have something that would remind me of my grandfather. Little did I realise that it would engender a passion for rosaries. Of course, it helped that both my parents were avid rosary collectors. Soon, I became one. When relatives and friends who lived abroad asked me what I wanted, I always said, “Please bring me a rosary. As a result, after all these years of persistent effort, I now have a collection of more than 60,000 Rosaries.”
“About 99.9% of the Rosaries that I have collected are made in Italy- for centuries, rosaries were made there and it continues to be exported all over the world,” says Sabu.
They are made of gold, silver, ruby and emeralds. Some are made of tulsi leaves, coir, and olive wood. My most astonishing rosary is one in which there are a thousand beads. A friend from Kerala made it especially for me, and this Rosary is special for our family.. I am a ardent devotee of Mother Mary, having prayed more than a lakh times using this rosary. Mother Mary means everything for me. The most unusual rosary is the one made in the USA. It is called, ‘Unborn child’. Each bead represents Mother Mary’s tears for aborted children,” said Sabu.
“There are rosaries named after saints and continental rosaries: with this rosary you can pray for the people in all the five continents. There are wedding rosaries in which two rows of beads run parallel to each other-This is to suggest that two hearts are beating as one. These rosaries have been sourced from many countries worldwide, including Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Finland, France, and Ecuador. Some of my rosaries were in the possession of notables. I have a rosary that has been used by Mother Teresa. When Pope John Paul II visited Kerala in 1986, I was able to get a rosary blessed by the Pontiff. Later, I got one from Pope Benedict XVI. I also have rosaries blessed by 130 Bishops,” added Sabu.
He further said, ” At my house in North Paravur, I have set aside one room to store the rosaries. They are kept in small plastic boxes. Some are placed in wooden containers. All these years I have conducted 124 exhibitions, and this is the 125th exhibition in Mangaluru. It was the parish priest at the St. Don Bosco church at North Paravur, Fr. Francis Kaithathara who encouraged me to display it for the public. He told me I should share the rosaries with others, and I took his words very seriously, and here I am with my 125th display of my Rosary collections. I have noted that people feel very happy when they view the rosaries. Many have a wonder-struck look on their faces. As I have become known to people through exhibitions and media, people come up to me and donate their rosaries. Sometimes, they send it through the post, and till now I have received thousands of them”.
Even though Sabu had received quite a number of Rosaries from friends and well-wishers, when Team Mangalorean asked as to how much he has spent on the rest of his collection, he blushingly said, “Around Rs 25 lakhs!”. When requested for his message for the readers of mangalorean.com, this is what Sabu had to say, ” The scope of this Apostolate is to increase the devotion of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin mary and to bring the message of the Rosary to the whole world: so that many faithful may grow in their devotion and piety. We hope that, this Apostolate can be an efficient instrument to fulfil the Will of our beloved Pope Blessed John Paul II that the Rosary is and may become more and more a prayer of and for the family. Those who love the devotion of the Holy Rosary and its promotion among the people can contribute materially and spiritually, so that the Rosary exhibition can reach a greater number of Christian people possible. Start saying Rosary daily”
Following is a Story related to Rosary:
St.Dominic preached the Gospels to the Albigensians, a heretical group of Christians who condemned wine, women and wealth as evil, for six years, but did not find any success in his preaching. Not one got converted by his preaching. Those heretics only jeered and pelted stones at him as he travelled on the road. One day, being depressed, he prayed to Mother Mary, and our Lady revealed herself in the Church of Prouille in the year 1208, and said to him, “Wonder not that you have obtained so little fruit by your labour, you have spent them on barren soil; not yet watered by Divine Grace.
Therefore preach my Psalter composed of 150 angelic salutations and 150 ‘Our Father’ and you will obtain abundant harvest.” The next day he went out and read a Gospel passage and preached the Gospel in the form of explanation and asked the people to meditate. He took out his rosary and recited one decade of the rosary, and then he read another passage from the Gospel and preached the Gospel and recited a decade of the rosary. Thus he took five readings, preached five sermons and recited five decades of the rosary. Then the first miracle happened – the heretics converted and pledged their allegiance to the Catholic Church.
St.Dominic preached on the Mysteries of our salvation – the Incarnation, Redemption and Eternal life. This became the usual method of St.Dominic’s preaching. And Our Lady blessed his efforts abundantly. Thus St.Dominic The Battle of Muret France) was fought in the year 1213 between the Catholic forces led by Simon de Montfort and the Albigensians led by Raymond of Toulouse. The Catholic forces were in the habit of praying the rosary at the suggestion of St.Dominic. The Catholic forces won the battle of Muret and it was looked upon as a miraculous victory and counted as the fruit of prayers. People said, “St. Dominic won by prayers and Simon de Montfort by arms.” Later the first chapel was built by Simon de Montfort in honour of the rosary in the town of The Rosary is a powerful weapon that our Mother Mary has given us to fight the many battles that we face in our lives.
