Nearly 30 rosaries from Estelle Semmes Monic’s collection were on display Tuesday at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Jennings during the Diocese of Lake Charles Altar Society Conference.

Monic’s collection, which includes more than 75 rosaries from around the world, began when her brother John Semmes started collecting them on his travels. Many of the rosaries feature relics and detailed booklets documenting their history.

“My brother John Semmes traveled a lot for work,” Monic said. “Wherever he would go he would bring me back a rosary. The collection just grew from there.”

The Jennings resident said she has a special devotion to the rosary and believes in its power for miracles. Wars have been stopped and people have been healed just by praying the rosary, she said.

Monic kept the rosary collection in her home until it became too large. It was then donated to the Diocese of Lafayette Museum located at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The museum displays some of the collection year-round, with the entire collection shown in May and October.

“Hopefully the display will inspire others to pray the rosary every day,” she said.

Each rosary has its own meaning and history, she said.

“All of the rosaries are unique in that none are alike and every single one has a story to tell,” Monic said. “And some are unique because they have relics attached to them.”

One of those relics include a first-class relic of St. Imelda Lambertini, an 11-year-old girl who died in 1333 after receiving her first Communion.

“Her story touched me,” Monic said. “She was a young girl, and she wanted to receive the Eucharist so badly that she kept begging her parents, priests and anybody that would listen to her to let her receive the Eucharist. She wasn’t old enough, so when she was old enough, she joined the monastery, and they said she would pray constantly to be able to see the Eucharist. And one day as she was praying, and all the nuns were around, one of the nuns noticed that the Eucharist was floating above her face.”

Another notable rosary is a 1700 Spanish galleon rosary made from silver. The rosary can only be seen at the museum.

The collection also includes a 15 decade priest belt rosary from the Redemptorist Order, a late 1800’s Sisters of St. Anne Habit Rosary from Canada, an antique five decade belt rosary from the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary and a rare 1800’s nun’s rosary from the Beguine Convent in Belgium.

Many have belonged to bishops, priests and nuns, while others come from ordinary people, Monic said.

Some are made of semi-precious and precious stones, while others are made from plant seeds and other natural materials.

John Semmes spent nearly five years researching and authenticating every rosary in the collection, with each one detailed in a book.

“Every single rosary has been completely studied, detailed and written up in a book,” she said. “If people read the research he has done on the rosaries, I think they will be amazed because these are not just a rosary that you can get in the store. Most of them are handmade.”

Father Kevin Pellerin, of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Jennings, shared a brief history of the rosary during the conference, highlighting the widespread use of rosaries or prayer beads across cultures and languages, demonstrating their enduring popularity and significance.