The following Basilicas have inspired us to make rosaries in honor of them as they help share a remarkable 2000 year old path broken by early Christians.  We were all called to make a pilgrimage during the Jubilee. But not all were able.  We hope there is a bit of a pilgrimage for you here as we tour six of the Basilicas in Rome and dedicate some of our loveliest rosaries to them.
 


 

~ ROSARIES ~

 
click on small image for details and pricing
available in (b) bronze and (s) sterling

~inspired scripture~
4 One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD’S house all the days of my life,  To gaze on the LORD’S beauty, to visit his temple. 5 For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble, Will conceal me in the cover of his tent; and set me high upon a rock. 6 Even now my head is held high above my enemies on every side!  I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and chant praise to the LORD.
Psalm 27:3-6


 

~ EARLY PILGRIMAGES ~

The pilgrimage of the seven churches in Rome is a very very old tradition and there are may works of art that picture this event.  The pilgrimage starts at St Peter and proceeds to Santa Maria Maggiore by way of S. Paolo fuori le Mura, S. Sebastiano on the Via Appia, S. Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura. In the 16th century, St Philip Neri brought about a new awareness of this old tradition.  On Shrove Tuesday he walked with a large crowd of people who, it is said, 'sang, prayed and ate abundantly in celebration' before the poverty of the coming season of Lent.


 

~ HOW PRESSED BEADS are FORMED ~

 This technique of making beads was recorded in Murano from as early as the 15th century. First, the glass blower would take a blob of molten glass from the furnace. It had a bubble of air caught inside.  He would then draw or pull the hot glass into long strips about 20 meters long. This took great patience as sometimes these rods were drawn to 1mm in thickness to make seed beads - called 'drawn beads'. The glass had to be of the highest quality to sustain such refinement so the glass maker had to be a master at his craft.
+
The bubble of air became a long thin line as it was drawn or stretched along with the glass and just as if planned by a higher power, became the threading hole. After the glass had cooled, it was then broken into workable 'cane' lengths which are roughly 3 feet long. The glass cane was then re-softened and used as the fill for a two part mold which was basically a pair of tongs. If one was to go into the work area of an old bead maker, he might  see these tongs lined up on the wall as each produced a different pattern or bead design. This beadmaking process became very popular because of the variety of beads it produced.  It became a standard technique in pre war Bohemia (Gablonz) and then in Germany (Neu Gablonz)  according to
'The History of Beads' by Lois Sherr Dubin.

ROSARY WORKSHOP MISSION STATEMENT
Our vision is to provide the finest handmade rosaries, chaplets and other fine religious art forms for personal worship we can make using the best supplies available.  The Guild believes the work of our hands should give visual Glory to God, therefore for us, the best for you is very, very important.