Children’s Rosary Movement Reaches South Africa

by Admin · December 15, 2025

What began as a small parish initiative in the US state of Connecticut has grown into one of the Catholic Church’s most widespread children’s prayer movements — and has now reached South Africa.

The Children’s Rosary, founded in 2011 in Hartford by Blyth Kaufman, encourages young people to gather in parish groups to pray the rosary with simplicity, reverence and a missionary spirit. Today, groups meet regularly in more than 40 countries, from the United States and the Philippines to Nigeria and Madagascar — and now South Africa — to form a global network of children praying for peace, families, and the Church.

Children’s Rosary representative Asher Kaufman has just completed a tour of South Africa during which he introduced the concept in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Aliwal North.

The movement’s aim is simple: to help children develop a deep love for prayer and Our Lady, and to renew parish life by placing children at the heart of communal intercession. Groups meet monthly or weekly, depending on local circumstances, and all follow the same structure: children lead the decades, adults may accompany them, and every group is spiritually connected through a shared intention that “all children come to know the peace and joy of friendship with Christ”.

The apostolate’s resources — free materials, instructional videos, newsletters and a global directory — are coordinated from its base in Connecticut, but the movement spreads largely through word of mouth, parish invitation, and grassroots enthusiasm.

Johannesburg-based Gail Walters has been appointed to represent the Children’s Rosary in South Africa. The parishioner of Victory Park is working across all nine provinces and soon in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Asher Kaufman told The Southern Cross that the rosary groups not only strengthen children’s prayer lives but also draw parents and grandparents back into active parish engagement. Many priests have noted that the presence of children praying together has a transformative effect on parish culture, fostering reverence, unity, and a renewed Marian devotion.

Kaufman is on a year-long missionary trip around the world to promote the Children’s Rosary in Europe and Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar. As part of his mission, he has distributed over 64,000 handmade rosaries to children and met with Church leaders. His journey is part of his discernment process as he prepares to enter the seminary in September 2026 for the Archdiocese of Hartford.

For more information, see www.childrensrosary.org. Resources for starting a Children’s Rosary group in your parish are available at www.childrensrosary.org/resources-to-start-a-childrens-rosary/
Local coortdunsatir Gail Salters can be reached on 0604640320 or