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     FAMILY ROSARY CRUSADE FOUNDATION, INC. is a duly registered non-profit and non-stock religious organization, established in the Republic of the Philippines, and has the primary mission to promote family prayers particularly the Holy Rosary across the country and in the Asia-Pacific region as inspired by its founder, the late Fr. Patrick Peyton of the Congregation of Holy Cross who instilled the unceasing love of the Blessed Virgin Mary on all mankind in the name of her son Jesus Christ and God Almighty.

     Family Rosary Crusade or FRCFI is working hand-in-hand with various Family Rosary Crusade organizations all over the world and particularly in the Philippines, in the evangelization efforts, utilizing to the fullest extent of mass media; from print, radio, television, outdoor advertising, and the internet. 

     FRCFI’s principal office and studio are located at the 3rd Floor of the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center along United Nations Avenue, Paco, 1007 Manila, Republic of the Philippines with a mandated responsibility, as agreed upon with Family Rosary International to administer and coordinate the requirements in the Asia-Pacific region.

     To date, FRCFI distributes to interested parties the Rosary, pamphlets on the Rosary, How to Pray the Rosary booklets, prayer handbooks, and the Holy Bible for free to all individuals and communities. Before the year 2000, FRCFI will launch anew Fr. Peyton’s Mission Popular across the Philippines.

     FRCFI is also broadcasting on radio & television. Its programming and specials are aired via satellite across the Asia-Pacific rim, as far as Southern Europe & Middle East up to the U.S. West Coast thanks to the generosity of friends in the Philippines’ broadcasting industry, with the likes of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (http://www.abs-cbn.com), Associated Broadcasting Company and Radio Philippines Network, Inc. On radio, DWLL 94.7 on the frequency modulation band in Manila and its affiliate stations across the nation airs the fifteen-minute praying of the rosary everyday at dawn.

FAMILY ROSARY CRUSADE FOUNDATION, INC.
Pope Pius XII Catholic Center
United Nations Avenue, Paco, 1011 Manila
1998 - 1999
 

MR. LEON P. HONTIVEROS
Chairman

MS. IMELDA O. COJUANGCO
Vice-Chairman

AMB. HOWARD Q. DEE
President

MR. CARMELO GOMEZ
Vice-President

MS. SUSANA B. ORTIGAS
Treasurer

MS. TERESA V. DAZA
Asst. Treasurer

MS. FELICITAS DIAZ
MS. SUSAN P. MARTIN
SR. JOANN HAVELKA, CSC
FR. BONIFACE TOLENTINO, CSC
Trustees
 

GENNIE Q. JOTA
Executive Director

In the spirit of our founder,
Father Patrick Peyton, CSC,
and under the sponsorship of
the Congregation of Holy Cross,
and the Family Rosary Crusade 
serve Jesus Christ and His Church 
throughout the world 
by promoting and supporting the spiritual
well-being of the family.

Faithful to MARY, the Mother of God, 
encourages family prayer
especially the Holy Rosary;
directs its efforts
to the evangelization of culture,
using mass media to entertain,
inspire, and educate families.
 

THE POWER OF PRAYER 

     It is an accepted fact that the family is the center of any community and being so needs to be protected and defended. The Second Vatican Council explains that the family is the “domestic church” and prayer binds it together. The Council further explains that prayer is the essential and lasting Christian guidance that parents could leave behind to their children.

     The Rosary, a mode of prayer synonymous to the Blessed Virgin Mary has been described as a simple and beautiful method of prayer enriched by many indulgences. Pope Pius IX prior to his death said, “If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, in your country, assemble every evening to recite the Rosary.”

     The Church acknowledges the fact that the Virgin Mary is the model for every consecrated person and her   participation in the apostolic mission of the Church.  Even the religious contemplative would not have a complete calling if there were no filial love directed towards the Mother of the Church.

     Father Patrick Peyton of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Marian devotee and founder of the Family Rosary Crusade. said, “Prayer is the soul of the religious education and family prayer is the soul of society.”

     The Second Vatican Council reiterated that, “Prayer constitutes an essential part of Christian life, understood in its fullness and centrality. Prayer is an important part of our very humanity: it is the first expression of man’s inner truth, the first condition for authentic freedom of spirit.”
 

     The need to spare some time to prayer was the single basic mission of Father Patrick J. Peyton, CSC throughout the more than fifty years he led the Family Rosary Crusade. Fr. Peyton’s devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary since his childhood helped boost his resolve to spread the mission all over the world.

     Fr. Peyton’s own vocation would have been cut short due to tuberculosis but his will and total dependence in God and belief in the powerful intercession of the Blessed Mother miraculously saved him and enabled him to shoulder the task of making people know the life of Jesus and Mary through the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. The illness would have broken any man with a weak faith but Fr. Peyton was somewhat of a modern day Job who hurdled through difficult circumstances and hardships.

     Fr. Peyton established the Family Rosary Crusade as a personal thanksgiving in return for the kindness of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All throughout his illness, Fr. Peyton sought the Virgin Mary’s intercession and in the process, his petition was granted. 

     Fr. Peyton was raised by an Irish Catholic family who practiced every evening the praying of the rosary together. The contemplative orientation of the then young Peyton was the catalyst that ripened his mission in the future.
 

     A day after Fr. Peyton’s ordination in 1941, the young priest sought his Superior’s permission at the Congregation of Holy Cross to pursue his mission to encourage others to devote quality time to pray the Family Rosary. 

     Initially, the young Fr. Peyton took him to parishes and various congregations but his efforts would be overtaken by a more effective means of mass communication, the radio.

     The appeal of broadcast communication would serve as the fastest and most potent way of propagating the devotion to Our Blessed Mother and the Rosary.

     Fr. Peyton was effective in devising ways of making people appreciate the Life of Christ through the mysteries of the rosary and scaling it down to languages or means that would appeal to all.

     He started producing radio programs and later on he would conquer television and eventually even venture into the movies. Alone but with a pocket full of determination, Fr. Peyton took Hollywood “by storm”, so to speak, and was able to get the support of named stars to endorse his mission.

     Fr. Peyton was the kinder and gentler version of Hollywood’s movie moguls like Jack Warner and Louis Meyer. Instead of plainly entertaining, Fr. Peyton was preaching and entertaining across the world using the electronic pulpit to make families believe in the truth of the statement,  “The family that prays together stays together.”

     The mesmerizing Fr. Peyton nurtured dozens of big-time Hollywood stars to pitch-in their talents and services for free. Some even spared time to appear in various radio and television specials he produced. Fr. Peyton established Family Theater Productions to produce short-films and full-length features. Hollywood idols such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Helen Hayes, Loretta Young, William Shatner, Helen Hayes, Ricardo Montalban, Jack Benny, Tony LoBianco, Lucille Ball and others never hesitated to act, or sing in the name of promoting the Family Rosary.

     Once the word was spread, Fr. Peyton traveled all over the world to start his rosary rallies. Initially, his rallies gathered thousands but eventually, in his succeeding rallies millions came! The rallies had its humble beginnings at London, Ontario in Canada in 1947. Fr. Peyton journeyed across the world to cities and captivated millions. Whenever he started reciting the Rosary over the loudspeakers, people would bow down and join him. These prayer rallies would echo through the streets, alleys and into the homes of millions of families.

     From continental United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, including the Philippines, the Family Rosary Crusade rallies dominated headlines from the fifties up to the early nineties. Everyone was mesmerized. Everyone acknowledged the importance of praying the rosary among families.

     The innovation of Fr. Peyton continued to prosper and a sudden inspiration led him to develop one of the world’s most popular slogans immortalized in outdoor advertising billboards. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America or O.A.A.A. would make Fr. Peyton’s creative idea become a prominent roadside fixture and people would easily recall the words, “The family that prays together stays together.” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace.”

     The growing success of Fr. Patrick Peyton later earned him the title “The Rosary Priest” for his devotion and dedication. The success was not for Fr. Peyton but for the beloved Blessed Virgin Mary he loved. The mission of Fr. Peyton through the Family Rosary Crusade was blessed by the Second Vatican Council and recognized by the Vatican in the time of John XXIII in the sixties as a praiseworthy apostolate.

     Through the years, Fr. Peyton’s Family Theater Productions was honored for its innovative presentation. Broadcast- related award-giving bodies showered Fr. Peyton accolades for upholding family centered television programming. In the late eighties, Pope John Paul II, another Marian devotee, praised Fr. Peyton for his lifelong crusade and bestowed upon him the honor of being, “A Man of Faith”.

     In the early nineties, Fr. Peyton was concerned over the continuation of his mission for at that time he was already aware of the reality of joining his Creator. The Congregation of Holy Cross was very supportive and pledged to continue his mission. Fr. Peyton died June 3, 1992 but his legacy remains and continues to grow.
 

     His first Philippine visit was in l951 at the invitation of the then rector of the University of Sto. Tomas to speak o the Rosary.  The outcome was a daily Rosary Hour over radio station DZPI under the leadership of the late Joe Meily and Antonio R-Infante, then Student Catholic Action campus leaders.

     The crusade in Manila started in 1959 when the late Archbishop of Manila, Rufino J. Cardinal Santos invited Fr. Peyton to initiate a Rosary Rally.  As in Fr. Peyton’s previous rallies, millions attended and made their presence felt.

     One point five million devotees packed the Luneta to attend the Family Rosary rally on December 8, 1959.  Soon after similar rallies followed in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. During the Marian year in 1985 at the Luneta, two million people pledged to pray the rosary with their families.

     The mission in the Philippines also spread into mass communication and audio recordings of families reciting the rosary with Fr. Peyton was aired by hundreds of radio stations. The stage presentations of Family Theater under the direction of Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J. were seen regularly until 1972.

     Radio recitations of the Rosary continued over DWLL, through the generosity of Mrs. Nida Vera. In 1985, the television ministry was launched among the various television networks in celebration of the Marian year. Unlike the previous live drama presentations in the sixties, the eighties’ TV programs focused on Church issues and Marian Dogma featuring Bishops, theologians and hosted by Telly F. Somera and Msgr. Moises Andrade.

     In l986, the regular programming changed format with Babs O. Hontiveros as the regular host.  Since then volunteer broadcast practitioners have lent their talent and time to uphold the mission of the Family Rosary Crusade.  Our regulars on the weekly television programs are Fr. James B. Reuter, SJ, Fr. Larry Faraon, OP, Bernard F. Cañaberal, Loudette Z. Banson, Cecile D. Zalamea, Claudine Zialcita, Dean M. Bernardo and Babs O. Hontiveros.

     Today, five years after Fr. Peyton joined his Creator, the legacy continues to prosper.  The praying of the Rosary has become a habit for most families and others are continuously being encouraged to follow and practice Rosary prayer everyday.

     The Family Rosary Crusade mission is still growing here in the Philippines maximizing the appeal of radio and television. Many viewers still remember Fr. Peyton as though he were still alive. Many letter senders address their letters to Fr. Peyton requesting for prayers, rosaries, rosary booklets, Bibles, prayer leaflets – and some seek his counsel!

     Family Rosary Crusade programs is aired by three of the country’s major VHF commercial television networks, ABS-CBN Channel 2, ABC Channel 5 and RPN Channel 9. These programs are seen across the country and as far as the Middle East and by the Pacific Rim countries, thanks to the modern technology of satellite and cable broadcast.

     The Foundation which was established to pursue the mission of Family Rosary Crusade here in the Philippines is still engaged in various projects inspired by Fr. Peyton. Aside from its role of upholding Christian values and the promotion of the Rosary praying in its television ministry, FRC-Philippines solicits and distributes for free; rosaries, rosary prayer leaflets, to various Family Rosary Crusade units across the country.

     Utilizing its specialization in broadcast, FRC produces various documentaries and features, which are distributed for free and broadcast locally and abroad. In l995, Family Rosary Crusade produced a special documentary of the Papal Visit of Pope John Paul II in connection with the 10th World Youth Day here in Manila, titled, “Pope John Paul II: We Love You”.

     In 1998, FRC-Philippines along with veteran tri-media practitioner and regular volunteer, Fr. James B. Reuter, SJ wrote and annotated the latest documentary on the People Power Revolution of 1986, entitled “The Untold Story - The Miracle of EDSA”. The project commemorates the 12th anniversary of the peaceful transition of power in the country. Instead of focusing on the socio-political implications of People Power, the FRC documentary explores the miracles experienced and the unexplained phenomena encountered by the people involved in EDSA. Leading personalities attest to the humbling experience of EDSA where millions of people resorted to intense prayer and depended on faith as their sole blanket of protection.

     This September, the Family Rosary Crusade produced a documentary on the life of His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin on the occasion of his 70th birthday.  This was written and directed by Fr. James Reuter, SJ titled “Seven Decades of Sin”.

     The Family Rosary Crusade keeps alive the mission of Father Peyton through the inspiration of its Board of Trustees headed by Mr. Leon P. Hontiveros, Mrs. Imelda O.  Cojuangco, Amb. Howard Q. Dee, Mr. Carmelo Gomez, Mrs. Susana B. Ortigas, Mrs. Teresa V. Daza, Mrs. Felicitas Dias, Mrs. Susan P. Martin, Sr. Joann Havelka, CSC and Fr. Boniface Tolentino, CSC.   With Fr. John Phalen, CSC, President of Family Rosary/Family Theater worldwide, the Crusade hopes to cross the millennium with Mary with its battlecry, “The family that prays together stays together” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace”.