Feb 1, 2018 / 15:00 pm
A Catholic parish in Houston is encouraging sports fans to pray with handmade rosaries in the colors of their favorite professional teams. They're encouraging the Pope to pray with one too.
Next week, a group of Houston-area pilgrims will present Pope Francis with a handmade Astros-themed rosary when they visit the pontiff on Feb. 6.
The story of the rosaries began when Houston hosted the 2016 Super Bowl.
"We had the idea during the Super Bowl of having candles out at a shrine that we set up for Saint Sebastian, who is the patron saint of athletes. We had orange colored candles and blue colored candles representing the two opposing teams," explained Father Paul Felix, pastor of Annunciation Catholic Church in Houston.
"The object of it was just to encourage people to pray, and to include God and the life of faith in all of their activities," he told CNA.
"I have three out of the four major sporting venues and the convention center within my parish boundaries," Father Felix added. "I've been trying to seize upon these opportunities to engage the culture, to engage the people passing by us with a positive expression."