November 1 and 2 are two important days in the Roman Catholic tradition—the feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. On All Saints’ Day, November 1, we celebrate the Church Triumphant—all the faithful deceased, known and unknown, who are now saints in heaven with God. On All Souls’ Day, November 2, our focus shifts to the Church Penitent—all the faithful departed whose souls must undergo purification (Purgatory) in order to enter the joy of heaven. We, the living, are the Church Militant, and together with the Church Triumphant and the Church Penitent, we make up the Communion of Saints. The basic premise of the Communion of Saints is that we’re all in this together: the prayers of the living can benefit those in purgatory, and the intercession of the saints can aide those of us who are still struggling through life.

This act of praying for others is so important, that the Catholic Church designates praying for the living and the deceased as one of the seven Spiritual Acts of Mercy. So, on All Souls’ Day, especially, we are encouraged to remember and pray for our deceased family members. Praying for the faithful departed can certainly be done in a general way, but many of us like to remember our family members by name. Consequently, All Souls’ Day is a holiday that Catholic genealogists can really embrace in a big way, since genealogy is all about the identification of our ancestors by name.

While the Rosary is a popular Catholic devotion for prayer and meditation, it occurred to me that its structure could also lend itself to use in offering a spiritual bouquet for All Souls’ Day. For those who might be unfamiliar with the term, a spiritual bouquet is “a collection of private devotional acts and prayers chosen and performed by one person for the benefit of another.”¹ For those who might be unfamiliar with the Rosary, it’s a set of prayers that are recited, using a special string of 60 beads as an aid in keeping track of the progression through the prayers. A Rosary consists of opening prayers, then five sets of prayers called “decades,” followed by closing prayers. Each decade consists of an Our Father, followed by the Hail Mary (repeated ten times), and then the Glory Be. While it’s common to meditate on one of twenty Mysteries—events that took place during the life and death of Jesus and His Mother, Mary—while praying the Rosary, it’s also acceptable to focus on the words of the prayers themselves. I think that approach is easier if one is offering each prayer for a different ancestor or ancestral couple.

There are many ways that the Rosary can be adapted to pray for one’s ancestors, depending on where one begins with the family tree. In my Rosary, I wanted to include the souls of deceased members of both my family, and my husband’s. Since my mother is the only one of our parents who is deceased, I decided to offer the “Hail, Holy Queen” prayer (one of the closing prayers) for her, and offer the ten Hail Mary prayers of each decade for the souls of our grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents, as shown below in Version 1. Praying one decade each for my father-in-law’s family, my mother-in-law’s family, my father’s family, and my mother’s family, leaves one extra decade, which I decided to offer for all souls who have no one to pray for them.

As an alternative, I also set up a version focused only on my family (Version 2). In this version, the first decade is again offered for those souls who have no one to pray for them, followed by a decade each for my paternal grandfather and his family, my paternal grandmother and her family, my maternal grandfather and his family, and my maternal grandmother and her family. It’s a little easier to follow when using an example with names, so I’ve created examples for both Version 1 and Version 2, below. However, please note that in both versions, grandparents’ names have been redacted to protect the privacy of the living (my husband’s parents and my dad).

If you, too, are a Catholic genealogist, you can easily adapt one of these strategies to fit your own family tree. I made it easier for myself by printing out a “cheat sheet” with the names on it, but more power to you if you can do this from memory! Since it takes a little more focus, this is the sort of Rosary that lends itself to a quiet time and place, rather than a “Rosary on the run,” that you might say while you’re out walking or in the car.

May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

All Souls’ Day Rosary: Version 1

Opening prayers: As usual.

First decade: All souls who have no one to pray for them.

Second decade: My father-in-law’s family

1. Husband’s paternal grandfather
2. Husband’s paternal grandmother
3. Paternal grandfather’s father, Michael Szczepankiewicz
4. Paternal grandfather’s mother, Agnes (Wolińska) Szczepankiewicz
5. Paternal grandmother’s father, Stanley Skolimowski
6. Paternal grandmother’s mother, Helen (Majczyk) Skolimowski
7. Parents of paternal grandfather’s father, Wojciech and Anna (Augustyniak) Szczepankiewicz
8. Parents of paternal grandfather’s mother, Joseph and Tekla (Bogacka) Wolinski
9. Parents of paternal grandmother’s father, Tadeusz and Marianna (Kessling) Skolimowski
10. Parents of paternal grandmother’s mother, Stanisław and Aniela (Nowicka) Majczyk

Third decade: My mother-in-law’s family

1. Husband’s maternal grandfather
2. Husband’s maternal grandmother
3. Maternal grandfather’s father, Joseph Ferdinand Bartoszewicz
4. Maternal grandfather’s mother, Katherine (Levanduski) Bartoszewicz
5. Maternal grandmother’s father, Albert Drajem
6. Maternal grandmother’s mother, Mary (Kantowski) Drajem
7. Parents of maternal grandfather’s father, Szczepan and Joanna (Olszewska) Bartoszewicz
8. Parents of maternal grandfather’s mother, Stanisław “Edward” and Mary (Woźniak) Levanduski
9. Parents of maternal grandmother’s father, Augustyn and Agnes (Jamrozik) Drajem
10. Parents of maternal grandmother’s mother, John and Mary (Kończal) Kantowski

Fourth decade: My father’s family

1. My paternal grandfather
2. My paternal grandmother
3. Paternal grandfather’s father, John Frank Roberts
4. Paternal grandfather’s mother, Katherine Elizabeth (Walsh) Roberts
5. Paternal grandmother’s father, John Sigismund Boehringer
6. Paternal grandmother’s mother, Anna Julia (Meier) Boehringer
7. Parents of paternal grandfather’s father, Michael Frank and Mary Elizabeth (Wagner) Roberts
8. Parents of paternal grandfather’s mother, Henry and Martha Agnes (Dodds) Walsh
9. Parents of paternal grandmother’s father, John G. and Anna Franziska (Murri) Boehringer
10. Parents of paternal grandmother’s mother, Wenzeslaus and Anna (Goetz) Meier

Fifth decade: My mother’s family

1. My maternal grandfather
2. My maternal grandmother
3. Maternal grandfather’s father, Joseph Zielinski
4. Maternal grandfather’s mother, Genevieve (Klaus) Zielinski
5. Maternal grandmother’s father, John Zazycki
6. Maternal grandmother’s mother, Veronica (Grzesiak) Zazycki
7. Parents of maternal grandfather’s father, Stanisław and Marianna (Kalota) Zieliński
8. Parents of maternal grandfather’s mother, Andrew and Mary (Łącka) Klaus
9. Parents of maternal grandmother’s father, Ignacy and Antonina (Naciążek) Zarzycki
10. Parents of maternal grandmother’s mother, Józef and Marianna (Krawczyńska) Grzesiak

Hail, Holy Queen: For my mother

All Souls’ Day Rosary: Version 2

Opening prayers: As usual.

First decade: All souls with no one to pray for them.

Second decade: My paternal grandfather and his family

1. Paternal grandfather
2. Paternal grandfather’s father, John Frank Roberts
3. Paternal grandfather’s mother, Katherine Elizabeth (Walsh) Roberts
4. Father of person in 2, Michael Frank Roberts, in my case
5. Mother of person in 2, Mary Elizabeth (Wagner) Roberts
6. Father of person in 3, Henry Walsh
7. Mother of person in 3, Martha Agnes (Dodds) Walsh
8. All other deceased members of the Roberts family (Surname from 2)
9. All other deceased members of the Wagner family (Maiden name from 5)
10. All other deceased members of the Walsh and Dodds families (Surname from 6, Maiden name from 7)

Third decade: My paternal grandmother and her family

1. Paternal grandmother
2. Paternal grandmother’s father, John Sigismund Boehringer
3. Paternal grandmother’s mother, Anna (Meier) Boehringer
4. Father of person in 2, John G. Boehringer
5. Mother of person in 2, Anna Franziska (Murri) Boehringer
6. Father of person in 3, Wenzeslaus Meier
7. Mother of person in 3, Anna (Goetz) Meier
8. All other deceased members of the Boehringer family (surname from 2)
9. All other deceased members of the Murri family (maiden name from 5)
10. All other deceased members of the Meier and Goetz families (surname from 6, maiden name from 7)

Fourth decade: My maternal grandfather and his family

1. Maternal Grandfather
2. Maternal grandfather’s father, Joseph Zielinski
3. Maternal grandfather’s mother, Genevieve (Klaus) Zielinski
4. Father of person in 2, Stanisław Zieliński
5. Mother of person in 2, Marianna (Kalota) Zielińska
6. Father of person in 3, Andrew Klaus
7. Mother of person in 3, Mary (Łącka) Klaus
8. All other deceased members of the Zielinski family (surname from 2)
9. All other deceased members of the Kalota family (maiden name from 5)
10. All other deceased members of the Klaus and Łącki families (surname from 6, maiden name from 7)

Fifth decade: My maternal grandmother and her family

1. Maternal Grandmother
2. Maternal grandmother’s father, John Zazycki
3. Maternal grandmother’s mother, Veronica (Grzesiak) Zazycki
4. Father of person in 2, Ignacy Zarzycki
5. Mother of person in 2, Antonina (Naciążek) Zarzycka
6. Father of person in 3, Józef Grzesiak
7. Mother of person in 3, Marianna (Krawczyńska) Grzesiak
8. All other deceased members of the Zazycki family (surname from 2)
9. All other deceased members of the Naciążek family (maiden name from 5)
10. All other deceased members of the Grzesiak and Krawczyński families (surname from 6 and maiden name from 7)

Hail, Holy Queen: For my mother

Sources:

¹ “Spiritual bouquet,” Collins Dictionary (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/spiritual-bouquet : 31 October 2022).

Featured Image: Pixabay, “Holding String of Beads,” Stockvault (https://www.stockvault.net/photo/216640/holding-string-of-beads#, uploaded 22 November 2016, accessed 31 October 2022), Creative Commons license CC0 1.0 Universal.

© Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz 2022