FORT SMITH — St. Boniface School in Fort Smith observed the month dedicated to the rosary by dedicating a new garden and saying the devotion together.
One day before the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Oct. 6, pastor Father Jon McDougal blessed the Rosary Garden, planted by a preschool teacher and her parents.
The garden has personal significance for teacher Carrie Vargas and her parents, Jim and Pat Pendleton.
“When I was growing up, I would pray the rosary daily, on my knees, with my parents, brother and six sisters,” Pat Pendleton said. “I have tried to pass on this devotion to Mary to my own family and, by planting the rosary garden, to the students at St. Boniface School.”
The chrysanthemums, crepe myrtles and snapdragons are white, red, gold and purple to represent the mysteries of the rosary — white for the joyful, red for the sorrowful, gold for the glorious and purple for the newer luminous mysteries.
Following the blessing, principal Karen Hollenbeck led first through sixth graders in the recitation of the joyful mysteries.
