The National Catholic Register featured The Catholic Association’s Ashley McGuire in a story on the rosary for the month dedicated to its power. In an article entitled, “Our Lady of the Rosary: 9 Catholics Share How They First Learned The Rosary,” Ashley writes:

“”Who’s that?” I asked my friend, passing by an unwatched television.

“Mother Angelica,” she replied. “She’s a Catholic nun.”

“What is she saying?”

“The Rosary. It’s a Catholic prayer.”

I was at a sleepover at a Protestant friend’s house. I was intrigued, and so we plopped down on the couch and finished with her. Her wry, sparkling eyes were smiling at us through the screen. I’m pretty sure she was looking dead at me.

I was 12.

My friend, at whose house I slept over regularly, wasn’t allowed to watch television, except apparently Mother Angelica. Her dad, though a full-throated Protestant, liked her.

How could you not?

And so I said my first Rosary with Mother Angelica. About 10 years later, I became a Catholic. Fifteen years later, I say the Rosary every Sunday evening with my husband and five kids. And I still see those wry eyes smiling right at me.”

Read some of the other voices featured in the story here.