By Verghese V Joseph –
Suganthi Rose, a home maker from Coimbatore, has a unique passion for collecting Rosaries. Her museum ‘Maadhavin Manigal’ (Our Lady’s Beads) in Coimbatore, which is situated in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has a collection of Rosaries which now stands over 7000 and counting! Some very rare, unique and valuable!
What started off as a hobby in early 2000 turned into a spiritual calling. So much so that the then Coimbatore Bishop Ambrose Mathalaimuthu presented her a rosary made of gold which was in turn presented to the Bishop by the then Pope St. John Paul II, an ardent believer in Mother Mary.
St John Paul II was a strong advocate for the Rosary, frequently promoting it during his pontificate and praying it himself on a daily basis. In his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, St. John Paul II’s personal note reflects his devotion to the Virgin Mary and the Rosary, and his confidence in the power of her intercession.
Drawn to Rosary
“After my post-graduation, I was fascinated in collecting old coins and stamps. It was then that I came across different types of Rosary beads used by noble saints from Israel, Egypt, Rome and many other religious places. Since then my fascination to collect Rosary Beads grew and I started it as a hobby. Then I understood it was the plan of the Lord that made me stand now as an instrument,” she said.
At first she started collecting Rosary beads from nearby places. Interested by the historic value, her passion for collecting beads increased. It was that passion that made her travel across the globe in search of antique Rosary beads. “Right from the beginning, I was determined not to seek help from outsiders. She sought financial help from her husband Jacob Jayaseelan to travel across the world in search of Rosaries,” she exclaimed.
Suganthi Rose’s collection of 7000 unique Rosary beads used by great saints, including the one gifted from the Pope, now adorns beautifully at her ‘Maadhavin Manigal’ museum. She takes great care to document the specialty of every bead and from where it was sourced.
Suganthi Rose’s believes that the Rosary serves as a guide and constant reminder of how our lives must be shaped by our desire to be more and more like Christ. “Our Mother quietly shares this truth with us in the movements of the Rosary through the Mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and Resurrection,” she added.
Devotion to the Rosary is one of the most notable features of popular Catholic spirituality. Catholics believe the Rosary is a remedy against severe trials, temptations and the hardships of life, and that the Rosary is one of the great weapons given to believers in their battle against every evil.
Interestingly one of rosaries in her collection is an ivory and hand-made Rosary called ‘Catacomb’. During the 2nd century in Rome, several thousands of people were killed mercilessly for believing and preaching Christianity. Those people who lost their precious life for the sake of God were looked up as great martyrs. Using their holy bones, devotees created Rosary beads, which are called as ‘Catacombs’. Also a three-foot long Rosary made from stones that were collected from the birth place of Lord Jesus was brought from Italy.
In addition, there are Rosaries made up of various materials such as seeds, petals, flowers, glass, crab shells and precious stones. However, each one has a special meaning and an historical perspective. Besides eRosary which was launched by Pope Francis early this month, she also has a rosary that recites by itself. If one were to press a mode button it will detect which year date and day and will recite the rosary in English.
Some interesting collection in the museum are relic rosaries and different varieties of rosaries such as Way of the Cross, Sorrows of Our Lady, Holy Face of Jesus, Joys of St Joseph, Sorrow of St Joseph, Joys of Our Lady, Pro Life, Holy spirit and icons such as fossil of Mount Sinnai and Rose of Bethlehem.
How did she raise funds for Rosary collection? She opted to collect money instead of gifts for her birthdays and wedding anniversaries from her husband, parents and father-in-law, she searched online and identified places to pick the best Rosaries.
She even has a collection of all the saints’ chaplets, relic chaplets, handmade rosaries, speciality rosaries, rosary with relic chaplets, icons, coins, spiritual medals. Her collection also includes a spring rosary from Lourdes, Saint Helen’s bone rosary and many from Italy, Spain, Germany and other parts of the world. She also has a three-foot rosary from Italy and the oldest handmade rosary called Catacomb, made of ivory.
Spiritual Experience
Suganthi Rose has an interesting story to tell about the ‘Catacomb’ rosary. Once when was browsing the internet, she came across a ‘Catacomb’ Rosary on an auction website. Although, she didn’t have any great knowledge of bidding on an auction website, she nevertheless kept hitting the bid button until she realised that she had run the bid amount to thousands of euros. Worried about the amount she simply shut her system and woke her husband up to enquire how many euros made a crore in rupees. He did some rough calculation and gave her the answer and it was then that she realised that she had bid the Rosary for a crore of rupees!
The next day, she received a mail from a priest who had put the ‘Catacomb’ Rosary for auction enquiring why she had bid for the Rosary and whether she realised the gravity of the situation. She admitted to the priest that it was not her intention to raise the bid amount so high but she was genuinely interested in the Rosary and all that she could afford was about a lakh of rupees. To cut the story short, after some days she received a post containing the Rosary and the priest refused to take money for it!
In another incident, Bishop Most. Rev. Dr. Thomas Aquinas once brought over a French priest to her museum. When Suganthi was explaining the collection of Rosaries asked her to prayer over him. She politely refused saying that he is a consecrated priest and he should instead pray over her. But the priest insisted and when she prayed over him with a St Gemma Galganni, 33-bead rosary. St Gemma Galganni is the patron saint for spinal cord. The priest immediately felt a rush of warmth over his back and was relieved of his back pain. The priest invited her to France and asked her to pray over people there. She went France at the priest’s invitation and prayed over people there.
“In 2014, Rev. L. Thomas Aquinas. Bishop of Coimbatore inaugurated my museum and appreciated my spiritual services. I wrote a letter to Pope Francis narrating about my museum and my passion towards Rosary Beads. Within a few weeks, I received a letter of appreciation from the Pope himself along with a gift, a beautiful ‘Rosary bead’. It was a dream come true moment!” exclaimed Suganthi Rose.
There were also instances of some people from other denominations criticising her unwavering devotion to Mother Mary and for the Rosary. They even berated her saying that Mother Mary and the Rosary were unnecessary in their prayers. But as it turned out, they have come back to Catholic faith and are now ardent followers of Mother Mary. Many people have come to know about the power of praying the Rosary and have begun to recite the Rosary daily.
Suganthi Rose propagates meditating while using Rosary Beads will help people alleviate from many diseases and attain tranquillity. Tourists from several parts of the world including United States, Europe, Italy, Britain and Australia visit Suganthi’s Museum and regard themselves very lucky to have witnessed such masterpieces all in one go.
Suganthi Rose also has a piece of a small rock which she claims to have extracted from the Holy site, Mount Sinai in Egypt. “It is a great blessing to have all these timeless treasures with me. I wish people to witness these immortal fortunes and seek the blessing of the Almighty,” feels Suganthi Rose.
History of Rosary
Knotted prayer ropes were used in early Christianity; the Desert Fathers are said to have created the first such, using knots to keep track of the number of times they said the Jesus prayer.
According to pious tradition, the concept of the Rosary was given to Saint Dominic in an apparition of the Virgin Mary during the year 1214 in the church of Prouille, though in fact it was known from the ninth century in various forms. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. In the 15th century it was promoted by Alanus de Rupe (aka Alain de la Roche or Blessed Alan of the Rock), a Dominican priest and theologian, who established the “fifteen rosary promises” and started many rosary confraternities.
In October 2019 the Vatican launched a US$109 “electronic rosary” with ten black agate and hematite beads, and a metal cross that detects movement. It is connected to the “Click to Pray eRosary” mobile telephone app, designed to help Catholic users pray for world peace and contemplate the gospel. The rosary can be worn as a bracelet; it is activated by making the sign of the cross. The app gives visual and audio explanations of the rosary. The eRosary is just the latest device in the “Click to Pray” family, described as “the official prayer app of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (where Pope Francis has his own personal profile) that connects thousands of people around the globe to pray every day”.
Suganthi Rose’s ‘Maadhavin Manigal’ museum at Sowripalayam, Coimbatore and is open for public from 10 am to 6:30 pm, all through the week.