Catholic convert embraces the faith, art of rosary making

By Doug Bean, Catholic Times Editor

Abbey Morante couldn’t have imagined herself praying the rosary just a few years ago, and now she’s making them.

A journey of faith that led the former non-denominational Christian into the Catholic Church in 2016 has turned into an avocation. Her Prayer Warrior Gifts is thriving, with a 400 percent increase in orders for her custom handmade rosaries during the past year through her Etsy site, referrals and several craft shows.

“I just go where I’m led. This year has been a huge blessing,” the wife and mother of two young children said. “I’m so blessed to be a blessing for other people.”


Abbey Morante with her custom-made rosaries.      Photo courtesy Abbey Morante

Her rosary story begins with a conversion.

In the fall of 2015, she decided it was time to have her then-2-year-old son Nico baptized. The Austintown, Ohio, native had attended several Christian churches in the Columbus area and tried to get her husband, Mike, who was born and raised Catholic, to go with her. 
“But it wasn’t working for us,” she said.

Morante went to Father Ted Sill,  pastor at Gahanna St. Matthew Church, to find out whether she could have her son baptized without her becoming Catholic. God had bigger plans for her.

“He showed me an abundance of grace,” she said. “I was so thoroughly impressed by him.”
That meeting took place at about the time RCIA classes were getting underway at the parish. Pregnant with her second child, Micah, Morante initially went to religious instruction classes just “to get some information.”

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” she said. “But I found that I was way more Catholic than I knew.”

She met some “really great people” at the parish and “I decided I was going to go for it. We had our second child during that process and we had our struggles. I didn’t know if we would make it through the entire RCIA process, but we did.”

During that period, not only was her son baptized, but Morante also was guided to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at St. Matthew. Members of the RCIA class were given a rosary and she took it with her to the chapel. She signed up for a holy hour, but didn’t really know what to do. One of the leaders described his routine, which started with the rosary, and “I figured I should start learning this” because everyone else was praying it.

Her family also was going through a difficult time dealing with a serious medical issue affecting their son. Going to church and visiting the chapel gave her the strength to get through that process.

“I was exactly where I was meant to be,” she said. “I just didn’t know it.”

At the Easter Vigil Mass in 2016, she was confirmed and entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. The family embraced the faith and had their home enthroned to the Sacred Heart of Jesus while praying the rosary every night together in preparation.  

“I am extremely thankful and proud of her for what she does, how she raises our kids, how she touches people’s lives and how she brought me back to the faith.,” her husband said. 
Morante’s rosaries were borne out of a search for a more modern, contemporary rosary when she was coming into the Church. She couldn’t find the style she wanted, and so the idea came to her to try making her own.

When she was 18, her mother had taught her beading. She had never used that skill, but after looking online for the easiest way to make a rosary, she decided to give it a try. It was a success.

After creating her own rosary, she started giving her creations as gifts. The first recipients were the officers in the Ladies of St. Jude women’s group at St. Matthew, a ministry she was involved in. Then she began to receive requests from families and friends. The rosaries were such a hit that she decided to put them on an Etsy site.

The orders haven’t stopped coming. She is trying to keep up with the demand while working as a full-time lab supervisor for Ohio Health in Pickerington and taking care of her family.
“I’m just going wherever the Holy Spirit wants me to go and doing as much as I can,” she said.

What makes Morante’s rosaries such a hit are their uniqueness. Her customer designs include Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns rosaries. In October, a Columbus Dispatch columnist featured her Ohio State rosary as a Buckeye-themed gift for fans of the university.

She offers rosaries for police officers and firefighters, members of the various branches of the armed forces, breast cancer awareness, patron saints (with a medal attached), first holy Communions, and Confirmations (with the recipient’s initials on the three Hail Mary beads), and sports themes. For children, she has made a Lego rosary and one with dinosaurs.

“I like to make them for the individual customer because I feel like if it’s personal, they are more likely to use it,” she said.

Each five-decade rosary takes approximately 45 minutes to finish, depending on the material. She uses real gemstones for some and crystals for others.

She also makes single-decade rosaries and bracelets (there’s one for Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans) and chaplets. Those take 20 to 45 minutes to complete.

In addition to making rosaries, she will fix and repair rosaries sent to her for free.
“I don’t feel like anybody should have to pay for that,” she said.

Morante’s work embodies the inspiring words of St. Teresa of Calcutta that Morante includes on her site and her business card: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.”

For more information, visit www.etsy.com/shop/PrayerWarriorGifts or contact her at abbey.morante@outlook.com.