The Rosary Priest Turns 100

David Naglieri

Friday, January 9, 2009

This past October, while in Los Angeles to accept the Gabriel Award for Television station of the Year, I was joined by several members of the Salt + Light staff as we visited the offices and studio of Family Theatre Productions in Hollywood. We were blown away by the quality of the staff, their productions and, above all their idealism. Much of that idealism can be traced to the story of their founder, Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC. Today happens to be the 100th anniversary of Peyton’s birth and Family Theater Productions is kicking off a year long celebration by doing exactly what Fr. Payton would have wanted: praying the Rosary.

Fr. Peyton was born into a family of nine children in Caracastle, Count Mayo, Ireland on January 9, 1909. His family would gather and pray the rosary every evening, a tradition that made a big impact on young Patrick. At the age of 19 he left for the United States, where he studied for the priesthood and later gained international fame as the founder of the Family Rosary Crusade and Family Theater Productions. Known as the “Rosary Priest” Peyton worked tirelessly to promote the Rosary, always using his now ubiquitous motto “the family that prays together stays together.”

Tonight, in celebrating the memory of Fr. Peyton Salt and Light Television will dedicate one hour of programming to his memory. At 8pm ET we air A Dedicated Man, a documentary film exploring Fr. Peyton’s lifelong dedication to the Rosary. This is followed at 8:30pm ET The Most Joyful Mystery featuring the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ricardo Montalban, and Bob Newhart (Fr. Peyton had a knack for recruiting A-list celebrities into his crusade for increasing devotion to the Rosary).

We hope you tune in to watch these uplifting programs which are guaranteed to nourish the soul.

To learn about the great benefit of praying the Rosary and the mission of Fr. Peyton please check out the website www.hcfm.org.