Rosaries Made, Traditions Kept

CAPE MAY — The women of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church’s Altar and Rosary Society, as well as its Legion of Mary, not only celebrate their faith in church on Sunday, but also celebrate in the dining room of Victorian Towers every Monday when they get together to string rosary beads.
As part of their normal routine, the ladies string strands of beads to be sent to missionaries throughout the world. But this summer, they’ve been making rosaries for a special event. As part of the church’s centennial this year, the ladies decided to revive a tradition at the church.
On Mon., Aug. 15, those women, along with members of the church’s Knights of Columbus council, will march to the ocean in honor of the Feast of the Assumption.
“We thought it would be nice to bring the tradition back,” said society President Anna May Ryan. She shared that the idea of a walk to the ocean has grown exponentially. “It started out with 14 ladies walking down to the beach,” she said. “And now there will be 100 of us.”
To prepare for the event that honors the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the women have been stringing blue and white beads.
“The girls are wearing white blouses and carrying blue and white rosaries in honor of the Blessed Mother,” said Ryan.
Moving her fingers across the string, as she placed finished up a row of decades, Cape May’s Madeline Harshman wound the string around a slotted stick to make the intricate knot between the decade and the next bead. Using a 60-inch piece of string, 60 beads are strung and knotted. It takes each woman approximately a half hour to complete one rosary.
“In our minds sometimes we silently say the prayers,” said Judy Arico. “It especially helps if we have something on our mind.”
For Legion of Mary President Marge Dougherty of West Cape May, making rosaries is a time to spend with others who believe.
The group has made thousands of rosaries. Normally, after completion, the strands are shipped to the fathers of the Salesian Missions where they are blessed and sent throughout the world.
One member of the group, Regina McDevitt, received a request from a prison in Camp Hill, Pa. to make 150 sets of black rosaries. “I sit and watch television and make them,” said McDevitt. “It’s my therapy. I don’t knit and I don’t crochet, I make rosaries.”
The group has already made over 100 sets of blue rosaries for the blessing of the ocean on Aug. 15.
According to Ryan, the church’s priest as well as the mayor of Cape May will make the three-block walk down Ocean Avenue to the sea. The parade is scheduled to begin after the 11 a.m. Mass on Aug. 15. Included in the parade will be a statue of the Blessed Mother. A platform to carry the statue has been made by the church’s Knights of Columbus.
Once the parade arrives at water’s edge, a rowboat will be taken out to sea. The ocean will then be blessed and a biodegradable wreath will be tossed into the Atlantic from the boat.
If the weather is cooperating, a priest will toss the wreath. Inclement weather will mean that a Cape May lifeguard will not only row the boat, but will also place the wreath in the ocean. “The lifeguard will do the rowing and the throwing,” said Ryan with a smile.
According to Ryan, the public is invited to attend. “It is open to everyone,” she said.