Catholic Men Return to the Rosary

The following comes from the Press-Enterprise site:

David Calvillo used to think praying the rosary was for "old ladies and funerals."

Then he went to a Catholic men's retreat in 2008, where for the first time he felt the rosary's spiritual power as he prayed it with 79 other men.

Calvillo, 49, is now on a crusade to convince Catholics that "real men pray the rosary," the name he gave a nonprofit he founded last year.

The rosary, a cycle of prayers said while worshippers finger a string of beads, is not gender-specific. Yet many men say they have always associated the rosary with women, especially older females.

There's no way to know whether the number of men praying the rosary is increasing, but nearly 9,000 people have indicated they like "Real Men Pray the Rosary" on the group's Facebook page.

Angel Pérez, 49, of Rialto, changed his view of the rosary after he heard a priest at a Catholic conference several years ago exhort men to pray the rosary to grow spiritually, strengthen their families and serve as an example to their children.

Two male parishioners of St. Martha Catholic Church in Murrieta clutch their rosary beads during a weekly prayer group. To attract males, there are increasingly popular "sports rosaries" that feature beads in the shape of footballs, soccer balls, basketballs and hockey pucks.

"He said, 'Prayer is not just for women,' " said Pérez, who now regularly recites the rosary with his wife and 15-year-old son. "And I thought, 'You're right.' We men sometimes think that if we pray the rosary that we're not the same men as before. On the contrary, we are men who are believers in God."

In addition to praying at home, Pérez said in Spanish that he tries to attend a Tuesday morning rosary prayer session at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Rialto.

Sometimes, all of the 15 to 20 people at that Tuesday prayer are women, said Pérez's wife, Josefina, 49, who leads the group. Members are hoping to add a second, nighttime rosary prayer, to attract more men and younger women, who are more likely to be working on weekday mornings, she said.

The Rosary Ritual

There are several variations to rosaries but they typically include 53 repetitions of a prayer to Mary, six Lord's Prayers and one of four sets of five "mysteries," which are significant events in the lives of Jesus and Mary.

The beads help worshippers keep track of each prayer without having to concentrate, leaving the mind better able to meditate upon the prayers. Members of other faiths, including Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, also use beads during prayer.

Although rosaries are most common among Catholics, other Christians, including some Lutherans, Episcopalians and Orthodox Christians, also recite series of prayers while touching beads.

There is no obligation in the Catholic Church to pray the rosary but it has long been beloved among many Catholics. The cathedral for the Diocese of San Bernardino is named Our Lady of the Rosary, a reflection of the rosary's significance, said Mike Jelley, deacon of the cathedral and vice chancellor of the diocese.

Michelle Mitchell attends a rosary prayer group that is, like most, majority women.
Calvillo, who lives in McAllen, Texas, said the centrality of Mary to the rosary may be one reason why it is typically associated more with women than with men. Calvillo said prayer in general is connected more with women.

"It's probably an offshoot of the humility and submission within prayer," he said. "As a man we're taught to be strong and protectors of our family, and humility may be more consonant in women."

Calvillo, an attorney, said he founded Real Men Pray the Rosary because the rosary has offered him so much spiritual sustenance.

Even though the prayers don't change, they can take on new meaning. For example, Calvillo said, the prayer on the annunciation to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus took on special meaning when he found out he was going to become a father.

Calvillo's website and Facebook page convey a more masculine image than other rosary websites, which sometimes feature pink roses. The group's symbol is a fist clutching rosary beads, and the website urges the faithful to "Be a Proud Rosary Warrior!"

Sports themes

Some Catholic parents strategize how to make the rosary more appealing to their sons. Many buy increasingly popular "sports rosaries" that feature beads in the shape of footballs, soccer balls, basketballs and hockey pucks.

"I think it's to entice the kids to use the rosaries," said Lucy Orr, owner of Rosaries Just for You in Carol Stream, Ill. "If it's got soccer balls on it and the boy plays soccer, he's more apt to carry it around with him."

Rosaries Just for You introduced the sports rosaries three years ago, and they now account for half the company's sales. Most customers appear to be parents buying the beads for their sons, she said.

The full rosary dates to the 15th century, although elements of it date back even further, said Lawrence Cunningham, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. It was created to offer the illiterate a shorter, more easily memorized alternative to reading the 150 psalms, he said.

Until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s switched Masses from Latin to vernacular languages, many Catholics who did not understand Latin recited the rosary during Mass, he said. After Vatican II, use of the rosary declined, Cunningham said.

Broader Appeal

If men promote the rosary, it appears to broaden its appeal among male worshippers. The weekly rosary prayer group at St. Martha Catholic Church in Murrieta has been about one-third male since it was founded seven years ago, said Deacon Pat Necerato. He said that's probably in part because Necerato and a former priest at the church created the group.

Frank Cuevas, 64, currently oversees the St. Martha rosary group. He said popular culture reinforces the idea of the rosary as for women. Cuevas has seen many Hollywood and Mexican films with scenes of the rosary, but he's never seen a man in one of those parts.

Like Calvillo, he began praying the rosary at an all-male retreat after he heard a priest express his love for it.

Now the Monday night rosary prayer group is an integral part of Cuevas' spiritual life, an escape from the stress and pressure of work.

"It calms me down," he said. "It's a time when I know I'm one with the Blessed Mother, one with Jesus. I feel a relief, a glow."