Coimbatore woman sets up one-of-a-kind rosary museum

COIMBATORE: Located in a quiet residential locality of

Annai Velankanni Nagar

at Sowripalayam in Coimbatore is a museum exclusively for rosaries which could be the first of such kind not just in the city but in the country as well.

In 2000, J Suganthi Rose, who had been a stamp and coin collector since childhood, received a gold rosary from the then bishop of Coimbatore, Ambrose.

This gold rosary was given to Ambrose by Pope John Paul II. Since then she developed a passion to collect rosaries from around the world.

So far she had collected more than 6,000 rosaries after travelling to five continents and several countries.Her dream of setting up a museum -Madhavin Manikal - exclusively for rosaries materialized in November, 2016.

Rosary, a chain with beads, is a common prayer for

Roman Catholic Christians

. But very few are actually aware of its inception, history and its types, said Rose.

There are themed rosaries that are released by the Vatican every year. I researched about them and travelled to various cities across the world to collect them. She has the oldest rosary called `catacomb' made of ivory that was hand-made and is believed to be from the second century . She has also collected a three-foot long rosary from Italy which is made from stones that were collected from the birth place of Lord Jesus.

“We have rosaries made of various materials such as seeds, petals, flowers, glass and precious stones. But each has a meaning and history attached to it. Several rosaries are made out of mortal remains of various martyrs, apostles, saints and followers of the religion. Some are even 900 years old,“ she said. Collecting rosaries wasn't an easy task, she said.

“We got in touch with

bishops

,

fathers

, our friends and relatives from various parts of the world. I even underwent a rigorous exam at Vatican to get a collection of some relic and martyr rosaries. We travelled to almost every city and country that we were aware of and wrote various petitions and letters to get these,“ said Rose.

Apart from rosaries, she has also put on display types of chaplets (short rosaries made of 10-12 beads), rare statues of Jesus and mother Mary from across the world, spiritual coins and protection chains.

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