Catholics from parishes throughout the Diocese of Phoenix took to the streets Oct. 14 carrying a 50-foot rosary to pray for the protection of unborn babies and the defeat of Proposition 139.
A 25-foot Winnebago wrapped in messages that warned of the dangers of the ballot proposition travelled alongside the peaceful prayer march that snaked its way through East Valley morning traffic. “Prop 139 allows late term abortion” and “Prop 139 will increase child trafficking” were among some of the bold wording featured on the RV.
The rosary procession, dubbed Beads for Babies, spanned 14 miles, beginning at Holy Cross Parish at Power and Baseline in Mesa, pausing at a Tempe Planned Parenthood and ending at Holy Spirit Parish at Guadalupe and McClintock in Tempe.
Participants in the procession took turns hefting the red rosary, passing it to the next group of prayer warriors every mile.
The Catholic bishops of Arizona issued a joint statement Aug. 30 urging voters to defeat the abortion-focused proposition on the ballot.
“As Catholic bishops of Arizona we want to express our strong opposition to Proposition 139. If passed, this initiative threatens to enshrine a constitutional right to virtually unrestricted abortion in Arizona,” the statement reads in part. Current Arizona law allows abortion until 15 weeks.
Powerful prayer
Armando Ruiz remembers when the prayers of the holy rosary were the difference between life and death. The longtime South Phoenix resident and founder of The Guadalupe Project, a Catholic evangelization center, said he and his family have been praying the daily rosary for five generations.
“I can’t say that praying the daily rosary is fun or always uplifting, but it’s like going to the gym every day. It will change you — it will make you stronger,” Ruiz said.
“You’re not going to see it overnight, but you will see its impact over time.”
The power of the rosary was brought home to Ruiz when his sister was in the hospital in a coma as she battled Covid.
“The doctor wanted to disconnect her from life-support, but I pleaded with him to give us one more week,” Ruiz said.
“That night, our family and friends began to pray the rosary, and she miraculously recovered. She came out of her coma after about a week.
“They had no explanation for it.”
Ruiz isn’t alone in his devotion. October is the month of the Holy Rosary and Catholics around the globe rededicate themselves to praying the beads. In Phoenix, Catholics will gather Oct. 27 for the annual Arizona Rosary Celebration at the Phoenix Convention Center. Each year, the event draws thousands of people for a day of prayer and pageantry.
Fr. James Kelleher, S.O.L.T. has travelled the world promoting greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the prayers that draw believers closer to her Son.
With a doctorate in Sacred Theology and a licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy, Fr. Kelleher is an expert on Mary’s maternal mediation. The Texas-based priest is helping lead an effort to build a culture of life through praying the rosary. The program’s motto, “Winning the battle for life, one bead at a time,” is reverberating in Arizona, Texas, Florida and Nebraska.
“If families pray the rosary every day, they’re going to win today. They’re going to win tomorrow and, we’re going to restore a culture of life,” Fr. Kelleher said. He pointed to an incident that happened in his own family when he was 14 years old that highlights the power of the family rosary. There were nine Kelleher siblings growing up in a small town in Washington state.
‘My youngest brother, 3-year-old Philip, was running around in the front yard with a big jawbreaker in his mouth and suddenly he started choking because it got stuck,” Fr. Kelleher said. Family members couldn’t get the candy to dislodge and so the mother drove as fast as she could to the hospital. On the way, Phillip turned blue.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, choking is a leading cause of death, particularly among children 3 years of age and under.
As the future Fr. Kelleher’s mother rushed to the emergency room, the rest of the siblings did what they’d been trained to do from infancy.
“We knelt down and we prayed the rosary with an intensity like never before. We begged the Virgin Mary to intercede to save my little brother’s life because he was choking to death. And when my mom got back an hour later, she had Phil in her arms and he was OK.”
Click here to sign up for the free weekly newsletter from The Catholic Sun
God’s protection
St. Theresa parishioner Manny Yrique can relate. He’s been praying the rosary since his youth and said he believes it has supernatural powers.
“As a child, I was introduced to the rosary early,” Yrique said. “It was kind of a family prayer in our house and for some reason or another, it stuck with me all my life. In crises and in times of emergency, I’ve always turned to our Blessed Mother for her intervention, and she’s never let us down.”
At 7 p.m. on the first Monday of every month at Mount Claret Retreat Center, Yrique leads the Rosary for the United States of America. He designed the red, white and blue rosary back in 2012, garnering national acclaim. Each one of the 50 beads is offered for one of the U.S. states, he explained.
“We’re obviously praying for the elections,” Yrique said, “but also that God will continue to protect us as a nation and that we remain one nation under God. He is under attack right now and the forces of evil are trying to keep Him out of our country.”
Election concerns
Marina Salvador-Velazquez, manager of respect life ministries for the Diocese of Phoenix, said the power of the rosary to reach pregnant and vulnerable women should never be underestimated.
“The difference one can make just by standing on the sidewalk, holding the holy rosary in prayer, goes beyond what we can imagine. Every bead can touch a heart and can change a mind. All we need to do is show up.”
Showing up to pray is exactly what the 40 Days for Life fall campaign is all about. Prayer warriors are praying in front of abortion centers around the world, including the Diocese of Phoenix. With more than a million abortions in the U.S. during 2023 and 60 million since 1973, there’s no doubt about the need to support pregnant women, cherish each life and pray the rosary. Initiatives and propositions to protect and enshrine abortion are on ballots across the country, including Arizona, where polls show the measure currently enjoys wide support.
Fr. Kelleher remains undaunted in the face of poll numbers.
“When you have God on your side, God can dissolve the enemy very quickly,” Fr. Kelleher said. “But the way God works is He asks human beings to do their part.” Left in a drawer, rosary beads don’t do much good.
“If we do our part, we win in the moment and as we go forward. If we don’t do our part, we lose in the moment,” Fr. Kelleher noted.
“Whether we win or lose on November 5, the battle will go on because we must pray the rosary every day so that through Mary’s intercession, a culture of life will be restored to the family, to the community, and to the country.”
