Altar and Rosary Society

St. Alphonsus Altar and Rosary Society is associated with the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. The Confraternity’s primary purpose is to “praise and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and to secure her patronage by the recitation of the Rosary for the mutual spiritual benefit of all the members throughout the world.”

Our local bylaws state we are “to encourage the Parish of St. Alphonsus to have greater devotion to God through praying the rosary…, to encourage the Parish of St. Alphonsus to have greater closeness to God by providing an attractive altar setting for worship and private prayer, and to help all persons of the Parish of St. Alphonsus to have a place (group) for social interaction.”

The Altar and Rosary Society obtains their objectives by: “sponsoring a public prayer of the rosary…, cleaning the church, altar, vestments … and all other items used in Mass and keeping all items in good repair, or replacing (them)…, and by generating ideas for fund raising projects; by taking charge of money making projects designated by the organization” and planning activities.

The money raised is used to purchase wine and hosts, cleaning supplies, cleaning equipment and also is used to help defray the cost for our planned activities in order to keep the participation cost low. We ask for a donation of $5.00 a year from all members for incidental expenses.

The History of Altar and Rosary at St. Alphonsus

St. Alphonsus Parish was founded on May 17, 1908 by the Redemptorist Fathers. The Altar and Rosary society began that same year on October 7th. We have changed a little over the years. Our organization now falls under the heading of Family Life Ministries, one of the social committees within the church. In addition to cleaning the church and saying the rosary, we plan monthly activities. Some activities are religious in origin and some purely for fun. Our activities include: dinners, retreats, picnics, local performances, or family game night.

We assisted in the formation of the Outreach group, Sewing Ladies, who sew quilts given to local organizations such as nursing homes, homeless shelters, Birth Rite, and the Handicapped Development Center. We also become associate with Church Women United in the Quad Cities. Our current President is Laura Patton. Altar and Rosary is open to all female members of St. Alphonsus Church. Help is always needed.