Ministry accompanies seniors on spiritual journey

by William J. Dagendesh

Photo: Rosary Team volunteer Melanie McClanahan chats with Betty, a care facility resident. (Photo courtesy of Teresa Rodriguez)

COLORADO SPRINGS. Praying the Rosary with volunteers is providing local seniors with companionship, spiritual nourishment and a renewed sense of purpose.

The Rosary Team, a nonprofit organization founded in 2019 in the Archdiocese of Denver, is a group of people who pray the rosary in pairs in senior care facilities. Volunteers provide companionship and prayer in the resident’s final years of life.

Often, seniors struggle with their lack of independence in their final years and feel they are a burden to others. The teams’ goal is to encourage more Catholics to see the spiritual need of these residents and not forget them. Through their work, the Rosary Team spreads the Gospel and introduces the love of Jesus Christ to the world.

“The Rosary Team is a small commitment, praying one hour per week at a facility close to the volunteers’ home. This prayer partnership, between the volunteers and residents, provides purpose and peace fulfilling God’s call to pray,” said Founder/President Teresa Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was serving at a memory care facility in Boulder County where she, several patients, family members and a caregiver discussed the facilities’ lack of spiritual support. Many entertainment options were available; however, spiritual nourishment was non-existent. The discussion inspired The Rosary Team.

“I asked a few friends to pray the Rosary at this care facility, and it grew to three days a week and six volunteers. During COVID, they prayed the Rosary over Zoom. This was heard throughout the dining room, kitchen and living room having a greater spiritual impact than we could ever imagine,” Rodriguez said.

When the facility allowed volunteers to return to work in summer 2021, people wondered if other facilities would like a rosary team. Most said “yes.” “Our work began in earnest to find volunteers to fill this request and it continues non-stop to this day,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, a hospice nurse practitioner with a master of science in nursing, loves praying and working with senior citizens. According to Rodriguez, seniors often feel they’re a burden because they can no longer function the way they once could. The Rosary Team wants to change this perception.

“Seniors are never a burden. They can pray for peace in our world, for healing of wounds, for those that are sick or dying and other intentions.”

“They need help with their physical needs and they have so much loss. They lose their homes, physical abilities; and many of their friends and family have passed away. But they don’t need to lose their relationship with God and we can walk with them on this path,” Rodriguez said.

Praying with residents who are sometimes forgotten in these facilities has a spiritual impact on the lives of the resident and volunteers. The Rosary Team volunteers pray one hour per week at the same nursing home on the same day and time, getting to know and love the residents.

Rodriguez described praying with residents and guiding individuals towards the true meaning of life with Heaven as the goal as a meaningful experience. Sharing faith becomes a privilege and is a transformative experience, lifting one out of personal struggles by fostering connection to eternal salvation.

“After praying the rosary together one morning, one resident told volunteer Pam (Pierce), ‘I love you, see you next week.’ This is one of the gifts among many that our Blessed Mother gives to us when we pray the rosary,” Rodriguez said.

For resident Dan Cummings, The Rosary Team was a life-changing experience. Prior to his conversion, Cummings lived a rugged cowboy lifestyle away from the church. The Rosary Team assured him there is nothing that God won’t forgive and that he needs to cling to his mercy.

“I am 80 and before, all I had to look forward to was quitting breathing. I couldn’t believe how good praying the rosary made me feel, how welcoming the volunteers have been. I have peace now and am much happier. It changed my outlook on life,” Cummings said. Volunteer Cris Fanelli added, “Dan has given us so much joy.”

Volunteers like Melanie McClanahan agree, saying volunteering provides a “meaningful purpose.” Renata Nadolski added, “It’s (volunteering) a privilege,” while Terry Polakovic described her involvement as “one of the holiest hours of my week.”

In a June 7, 2024 endorsement letter to local pastors, Bishop James Golka said this ministry engages parishioners who may not be able to participate in other ministries at the parish. “(It) provides companionship and prayer in the residents’ final years and connecting the residents back to their local parish for the sacraments,” Bishop Golka said.

“We remain comfortably detached to the lives being lived and those that pass away inside. Many of these residents were sitting in our pews not long ago,” Bishop Golka wrote. He has asked the Colorado Springs Diocese Rosary Team to pray: “That we may approach the fall national elections with humility and charity, and an increased trust in our Lord Jesus.”

Currently, there are about 50,000 nursing facilities in the U.S. and more are sprouting up worldwide, Rodriguez said. The group seeks to have a rosary team in every facility to spiritually care for these residents who many times feel abandoned.

Volunteers are needed to pray with residents and financial assistance is welcome. There are more than 400 volunteers in more than 150 facilities praying with residents in Colorado, and Rosary Teams have been trained. Eleven other states are following suit. 

The team has hired dedicated coordinators to manage the volume of volunteers, to collaborate with nursing homes and parishes, and create the volunteer schedule. “We have so many ‘yesses’ from nursing homes in Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, that we have put the calls on hold, because we need more volunteers,” Rodriguez said. 

For many volunteers, caring for souls in the final years of life is the greatest reward they can receive. Volunteering is a profound opportunity to deepen one’s spiritual life while contributing to the community through the timeless practice of praying the rosary.

“When you join or start a Rosary Team, you are saying ‘yes’ to visiting Jesus in the sick, hidden from our public view. The Rosary Team sees Jesus in these residents. ‘For I was sick, and you visited me,’” Rodriguez quoted from Matthew 25:36.  

The group last year gave volunteers Advent Gospel prayers, meditations and reflection questions to pray with residents and to prepare them for Christmas. “My plan is to do this again,” Rodriguez said.

The Rosary Team continues to grow in honor of our Blessed Mother in that everyone will know the love of Christ. “We know when God is calling us to something greater, which means for God himself; we were created to be called by God,” Rodriguez said.

To learn more, visit http://therosaryteam.org/.