UST eyes world record for largest human living rosary

MANILA, Philippines - The University of Sto. Tomas recently announced that the school would set a new world record for the largest human rosary that would be formed by at least 20,000 participants.

CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reported yesterday that in commemoration of UST’s 400 years of existence the school would assemble a huge group that would attempt to set a new world record for the largest human rosary.

The school marks its 400th anniversary next year.

UST, Asia’s oldest Catholic university plans to hold the human rosary during the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8.

In the Facebook page devoted to the event dubbed as “Q Rosary,” the grand living rosary is a statement of UST’s unchanging love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

“Having been named ‘Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario’ at the time of its inception, UST has had a long history of devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary, patroness of the Dominican Order. It is in thanksgiving for 400 years of her maternal protection that the University shall hold the Quadricentennial Living Rosary,” the information on the Facebook page says.

Participants to the grand living rosary would congregate along Arellano Drive, Ceferino Gonzales Drive, Osmeña Drive, A. Albert Drive, Quezon Drive, Leon Ma. Guerrero Drive, and Araullo Drive, and within Plaza Mayor and Plaza Intramuros inside the UST campus along España Blvd. in Manila.

Participants assigned to the Hail Mary beads would wear yellow shirts, while those assigned to the Our Father beads, the Cross, and the Center Medal would wear blue shirts. Those assigned to the connecting chains would wear white shirts.

The grand rosary would be prayed from 4 to 5 p.m. and it would be followed by a Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

The Q Rosary was initially set on Oct. 7 but it was rescheduled because of the unpredictable weather.