By Teresa Rodriguez
For the past three years, Caroline Campese has been bringing her children to pray the rosary with the residents of The Peaks care facility in Lafayette. A nurse practitioner turned stay-at-home mother who homeschools her five children, Campese says volunteering with The Rosary Team offers her family invaluable experiences while bringing joy to the elderly residents.
Initially, Campese struggled with balancing her professional goals, family responsibilities and a desire to serve the elderly.
“When we had our third child, I realized I couldn’t give them all the material things I wanted,” she remembered.
Observing peers providing their children with various expensive items and activities, she recognized that, while she couldn’t match these offerings, she could help their souls by teaching them to give back to their community.
“I realized I could give my kids the gift of volunteering their time to love others; it’s a valuable gift,” she said.
Then, Campese found The Rosary Team, which began in the Archdiocese of Denver and now has over 500 volunteers in 18 states.
However, Campese’s decision to involve her children in volunteering was not without challenges. With a newborn and her eldest just seven years old, attending weekly Rosary Team prayer required patience and adaptability, especially when one of her children grabbed the rosary from her hands, scattering beads across the floor of the memory care home.
“It was tricky because my kids were little, distractible and loud,” Campese recalled.
Despite these hurdles, the family remained committed, and their volunteer teammates — Sue Dunn (The Rosary Team’s very first volunteer) and Marj O’Reilly — were gracious, flexible and supportive.
“Being on a three-person team is very helpful; Marj and Sue are very understanding,” Campese shared.
This support system allowed Campese to take necessary breaks, especially during times when her family required more attention.
“There were many times I could not commit to coming every week. I took breaks when my kids needed extra care,” she said.
Volunteering has given them a broader perspective on life, faith, service and community.
“It helps my kids get perspective of the bigger picture,” Campese explained, emphasizing the power of prayer and service in teaching her children that their contributions are significant, regardless of their age. “I tell my kids their prayer is powerful, no matter how old they are, and God listens to them.”
Indeed, Campese’s prayerful ministry of presence is powerful both for her children and those she serves. Through that ministry — during this Jubilee Year of Hope and beyond — she participates in the Church’s mission to instill hope through God’s Word.
In a particular way during the Jubilee Year of Hope, however, The Rosary Team’s ministry takes on a deeper significance.
Among the many Jubilee indulgence opportunities Pope Francis has granted during this year, “the faithful will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if they visit, for an appropriate amount of time, their brothers and sisters who are in need or in difficulty (the sick, prisoners, lonely elderly people, disabled people…), in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them” (Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025).
Whether part of a Rosary Team group or visiting on one’s own, the faithful have a beautiful opportunity this year to love and serve our neighbors in nursing homes.
In the Denver Archdiocese alone, over 20 nursing homes await volunteers to pray with the residents and care for these elderly souls.
For Campese, volunteering with her children at The Peaks has been transformative, both for the residents and for her children, whom she said are learning valuable lessons about emotions and reality.
“Their faces just light up, staring at the baby. You can see the joy in their faces,” she shared, remembering her first visits with her newborn. On other days, Campese said, the emotions in the room are different. “We see a lot of people that feel scared, but they are safe and loved in the midst of their fear.”
No matter how small it may seem, the family’s compassionate, kind service is having a profound impact on those they serve. At the same time, their commitment imparts lasting values on Campese’s children.
“What we are doing on earth for God is a foretaste of heaven,” she concluded.
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The invitation to join The Rosary Team is to emulate Mary’s unwavering “Yes” to God’s divine plan. This nonprofit aspires to fill nursing homes across the United States and the world with a dedicated Rosary Team. With a straightforward guide and coaching from the Denver-based team, the goal is to establish teams in more than 50,000 nursing homes in the United States alone. To learn more about becoming a mission partner, visit https://therosaryteam.org/donate/. To support The Rosary Team, consider purchasing one of our gorgeous custom paintings of the mysteries of the Rosary, available as prints by June Jameson.
