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Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 13, 2006

Mount Clemens – For eighth-grader Kaitlin Bates, the presence of the Blessed Mother can be tangible at times.

"Sometimes when you pray," said Kaitlin, a student at St. Mary Middle School, "you feel special – like she's there watching you."

Indeed, the pews of St. Peter Church were filled Oct. 6 with students from St. Mary elementary and middle school, who trusted that Our Blessed Mother was watching them and would hear their prayer. In an afternoon service open to the faith community, the eighth-grade class led a scriptural rosary service, reflecting on scripture verses and lighting candles on the altar between each Hail Mary.

Photo by Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic Eighth-grade students at St. Mary School in MountClemens pray the living rosary on Oct. 6 in honor of the Month of the Rosary and the Feast of Our Lady of theRosary, which was Oct. 7.

"It's a good way to honor Mary as a role model," said Jessica Copiellie, another eighth-grader who helped lead the congregation in prayer.

St. Mary's living rosary was one of many rosary-centered services taking place in Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit and the world. October is known in the Church as the month of the rosary, a time to pray the age-old devotion that centers on the life, death and resurrection of Christ and requests the intercession of his Virgin Mother.

"The school is named after Mary, Mother of God.… and when the children go to Mass they pray the Hail Mary, so it makes sense that there would be a devotion and great reverence in every student to the Blessed Mother," said Joyce Mann, principal of St. Mary School. "It acknowledges who we are as Catholics."

And the students have learned a thing or two about the rosary.

Photo by Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic Every grade of the 490-student St. Mary School was on hand for the living rosary at St. Peter Church in Mount Clemens.

"Mary told St. Dominic about it, and St. Dominic gave it to the Catholic Church," said eighth-grader Eric Bayer, recounting the 12th-century saint who is said to have either brought the rosary to the Church or at least to have made the devotion widely popular.

And the Blessed Mother's role in the lives of each Catholic was something the students could identify, as well.

"She's such an important figure in the Catholic Church, being the Mother of Jesus and the Queen of Heaven," said eighth-grader Vincent Hankes.

Just as Catholics rely heavily upon the intercession of the Blessed Mother, St. Mary school has also centered its life on Marian devotion.

The school was named St. Mary because it was first run by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who started it in 1870. The sisters' rule, said Mann, stated they could only teach in facilities named after the Blessed Mother, which is why the school was not named St. Peter – the name of its adjoining church.

Over the years, generations have gone through St. Mary School and St. Peter Parish strengthening their devotion to St. Mary. And starting it in grade school, said eighth-grade teacher Kathy Faulk, gives the students a concrete part of their faith to remember for their futures.

"It's something that they can carry with them and that they can turn to in their adult life," said Faulk. "Praying the rosary as a teenager really lays the foundation for their adult life."