Following the Fatima centenary in 2017, an apparition in which Our Lady of the Rosary urged the praying of the Rosary, Eternal Word Television Network commissioned a special feature about the devotion of the Holy Rosary, which is intimately connected to St Dominic and his Order.
An hour-long documentary presented by sacred art expert Dr Jem Sullivan was filmed in the unique Rosary Shrine church in London, home to the English Dominicans since the 1860s. Dr Sullivan is based in Washington DC, where she is a doyen of the National Gallery of Art, author of a book on ‘Visio Divina’, and she has presented other special features on sacred art, on the “way of beauty”, for EWTN.
The completed project has just been released today, 25 March 2019, on the feast of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel first uttered those words: “Hail, full of grace!” In this documentary, which is now available on YouTube, and which will be broadcast worldwide on EWTN, Dr Sullivan leads the viewer into a deeper appreciation of the Rosary.
Using interviews with various Dominican friars, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP, Sir James MacMillan CBE, and pilgrims and parishioners in London, Dr Sullivan uncovers the history of the Rosary devotion and its place in Dominican spirituality, and its vital role today in advancing the new evangelisation.
Dr Sullivan guides us through the Rosary Shrine church in London – the first and only church in the world with distinct Rosary Chapels for every Mystery of the Rosary, each with a sculpted altarpiece – and so she leads us on a procession through these chapels, inviting the viewer into a contemplation of the Faith through art and beauty. This beautiful Shrine, built by visionary Catholics in 1883, stands as a gift to the Church in our times. The documentary introduces people to the Rosary Shrine, invites all peoples on a pilgrimage of Faith, and so calls them to take up the Rosary once more with fresh devotion and love for God.
We invite you to view the documentary, share it widely with your friends and family, and to come on pilgrimage to the Rosary Shrine. If you’d like to contact us and arrange a pilgrimage, or to contribute to our on-going restoration and renewal program, please contact secretary@haverstockhill.org.uk
