Young parishioner takes up craft of rosary making and repair

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

A young Our Lady of the Plains parishioner has turned her knack for jewelry making into a rosary repair service and rosary making business.

“I was given a kit to make earrings when I was about 12,” said Kathleen Hildreth, a 14-year-old from Manson/Twin Lakes who will be a freshman at Manson-Northwest Webster Community School this fall.

Hildreth explained that she really did not like how the first earrings came out so through exploration of new materials and equipment, she was able to improve her skills. Along with earrings, she has made bracelets, necklaces and keychains.

She applied the self-taught jewelry making skills first to rosary repair after her mother informed some fellow parishioners that her daughter knew how to repair jewelry.

“Some people at my church asked if I could fix their rosaries, so I offered to help and I did. I started looking into it further and I ended up learning how to make them,” said Hildreth, whose rosary repair and making skills were self-taught. She didn’t even refer to YouTube videos for assistance but suspects she may have been guided by the Holy Spirit to develop a process.
Kathleen HildrethAfter starting to repair the rosaries, she made up her mind that her first rosary making attempt would be something for a purpose. 
For her confirmation service project Hildreth made a rosary to donate to the God’s Harvest Fundraiser, an auction held by their parish to make money for the church. She used pearls from a necklace she owned that had snapped.

“My rosary got bought for $50 and I ended up continuing to make them,” she said. “The woman who bought it was my CCD teacher in the fourth grade.”

As she was making the rosary, Hildreth discovered she really liked the process. 

Not only has her love of making rosaries taken off but so has her devotion to praying the rosary.

“I did not pray the rosary and had no idea how to pray the rosary up until this year,” she acknowledged. Reflecting on that fact that the rosary didn’t mean that much to her initially, she added, saddens her a bit because she believes it has enriched her faith. “Now, I try to pray the rosary at least once a day.”She has also gained a greater devotion for saints lately and that has inspired the name of her rosary business – Saints With Strings.

An athlete involved in several sports, Hildreth said she sometimes prays the rosary while running. 

During the Ave Young Women’s Retreat/Trip held in early June she helped the other young women make rosaries. The overall experience of the trip enlivened her devotion to prayer, especially praying the rosary and it gave her even more motivation to help her community. Repairing and making rosary is one way to do that.

“I really don’t charge for repairing rosaries, that’s something I do to help out,” she said. Some people have given her a free will offering to help with expenses. 

In addition to traditional rosaries, she also makes rosary bracelets. A special one for her was made for her grandmother and it included the grandchildren’s first initial beads in between Hail Mary beads.

“A friend of hers saw the bracelet, thought it was cool and wanted one,” said Hildreth, who recently completed that custom rosary bracelet order.

She is presently making a rosary for her 9-year-old brother that features a St. Sebastian medal as the centerpiece and baseball beads.

“I really do think the saints play a part in everything we do and asking for their intercession has become more of something I’ve started to do,” said Hildreth. 

The Our Lady of the Plains parishioner has been asked to have a booth at the upcoming women’s gathering that will be held this fall- details to be announced. With this in mind, she has been making a variety of rosaries to have on hand at this event.

Some examples of rosaries made by Kathleen Hildreth.Her mother, Sandra, is also helping her set up an online Etsy shop that will feature rosaries, rosary bracelets and mini rosaries. Soon, you will be able to find Saints With Strings on Facebook and Etsy.“I don’t charge much for the rosaries, it mainly covers the cost of making more rosaries,” said Hildreth.
After she builds up a supply of rosaries, she said she hopes to put a basket of them in the back of her parish churches for parishioners to borrow or take if they do not have one. She is also toying with the idea of making her own “how to pray the rosary” booklet.

Hildreth mentioned she uses a variety of types of beads and various colors, however, she has a case of pearls “because they go with everything and they are beautiful.”

By making more rosaries available, the teen hopes to help spread this prayer devotion that honors Mary.

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