Jeanette Quesada's Mediatrix Rosaries will be one of 373 exhibitors and sponsors at the Congress
ROYAL OAK—In anticipation of the thousands of pilgrims expected to attend the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis from July 17-21, 373 sponsors and exhibitors are preparing to greet the faithful with their displays and booths showcasing faith-filled ministries and businesses.
Several ministries and businesses based in Michigan will have a presence, including local entrepreneur Jeanette Quesada. A longtime parishioner at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, Quesada is one of these vendors and will be setting up a display of her business, Mediatrix Designs, where she sells unique, handmade heirloom rosaries.
For Quesada, Mediatrix Designs is not as much a business as it is a ministry, one she feels is guided by the hands of the Blessed Mother.
“‘Mediatrix’ is the name given to Our Lady because she is the mediator between us and her son,” Quesada explained to Detroit Catholic. “I thought that's perfect because this is exactly what the rosary is—this intercessory position. It's about Our Lady giving all of what she understands about her son to us.”
Quesada first learned how to make rosaries in 2007 while attending a women’s retreat. A natural artist, she took to the craft, making more and more until, she says, her basement was covered with rosaries. Quesada began selling her rosaries in the gift shop at Shrine, where she regularly volunteers. Whenever she made a sale, she only took enough commission to purchase more beads, donating the rest to the church.
“I no longer sell at the gift shop, but (that experience) gave me confidence that people really do want to buy unique and beautiful rosaries,” Quesada said.
Quesada’s early rosaries were made with Czech glass. However, as the years have passed, she has developed a unique style, utilizing Venetian glass beads and Austrian crystal to create her rosaries. While the materials are more expensive, the rosaries are one of a kind, sometimes made with rare beads that cannot be duplicated, she explained.
Quesada had already been planning to attend the Congress before being accepted as a vendor, but having the opportunity to share her rosaries made her aware of the magnitude of the event, the first Eucharistic Congress in the United States in 83 years.
“I have never done anything like that before,” Quesada said. “I often tell people, ‘I feel like I have never played a high school football game, but I am going to the Super Bowl.’”
As Quesada makes each rosary, she prays for whomever it will belong to and their intentions. It can be hard to let the rosaries go, she added, but she believes they don’t belong to her.
“Sometimes I look at the rosaries and say, ‘Blessed Mother, my goodness, there is no way I could have done this without you!’ I know these rosaries aren’t mine, and I know they are going to someone, so I am always praying for the intention of the person to whom it really belongs.”
Quesada prays that each rosary she brings to the Congress will go home with the right person.
“Attending the Congress and selling my rosaries is really about meeting the Body of Christ in a special way that I wouldn’t be able to without this,” Quesada said. “This is a whole different understanding of the Body of Christ, that I am making these rosaries for people that I don’t know yet, and I look forward to meeting them.”
Copy Permalink
