In 1941, the late Archbishop John Gregory Murray appointed the late Monsignor Richard Doherty to be the director of Catholic action for the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis. In 1947, Monsignor Doherty initiated a public demonstration of prayer at the St. Paul Cathedral in response to the rise of communism in Eastern Europe. Because the 1947 prayer service was so successful, Monsignor Doherty launched the May Day Family Rosary Procession in 1948 for the same reason. The procession was co-founded by the late Florence Kueppers — the grandmother of the current St. Paul Section lector (Joe Kueppers). According to Monsignor Doherty, the May Day Family Rosary Procession was an outgrowth of the Catholic Action Committee. The procession began with a public demonstration of prayer to counteract the communist display of military power on the first day of May in Red Square in Moscow. Today we also use this powerful Marian prayer of the rosary to strengthen family life. That is the reason the first Sunday of May was selected for a counter display of spiritual might to offset worldly forces.

In 1951, the late Monsignor James Reardon, the rector of the Basilica of St. Mary gave permission for Monsignor Doherty to hold a similar procession in Minneapolis on the same day at the Basilica. Since 1948 in St. Paul and 1951 in Minneapolis, thousands have processed every year either at the Cathedral or the Basilica to pray the rosary on the 1st Sunday in May. In October of 1958, the May Day Family Rosary Procession Committee still headed by Monsignor Doherty sponsored an Archdiocesan Rosary Rally on the State Capitol grounds. Father Patrick Peyton (the rosary priest) was the guest speaker and an estimated 224,000 people attended according to the Catholic Bulletin. In 1963, attendance at both rosary processions peaked. According to Bernard Casserly, the editor of the Catholic Bulletin at the time, the attendance was 35,000 in St. Paul and 30,000 in Minneapolis. In 1983, the May Day Family Rosary Procession Committee reinvited Father Patrick Peyton to speak at a joint Minneapolis/St. Paul procession in front of the St. Paul Cathedral. An estimated 10,000 people attended according to Joe Pfeifer, who handled publicity for the event. In 1998, the May Day Family Rosary Procession Committee received a papal blessing in conjunction with the celebration of their 50th anniversary. In 2004, the route of the St. Paul procession was changed from Summit Avenue to the Cathedral to the State Capitol to the Cathedral.

The May Day Family Rosary Procession Committee has been blessed by Monsignor Richard Doherty, Monsignor Stanley Srnec, Father Francis Dudley and Father Bernard Klein, who have served as past spiritual directors, plus Father Robert Altier, the current spiritual director. It has also been blessed by committee member, Hugh O’Kane, who has served in various capacities since the committee’s inception in 1948.

Prepared by Joe Pfeifer
Committee Member since 1978
Committee Administrator 1992- 2006
For the St. Paul Section