The Engelbert Rosary Relief Project helps the “Nameless Children of Aleppo”. Children in Syria suffer the most from the terrible war: A whole generation of children knows nothing but bombings and lives a daily life of fear and violence and hunger from an early age.

They cannot attend school and often have to engage in illegal child labour. Some of the little ones are orphans. They have been abandoned and have to fend for themselves on the streets – some do not even have a name because they are simply not wanted and thus not registered. These “nameless children” have no identity, are abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Helping these children is precisely the goal of the Franciscans. In the destroyed district of East Aleppo, they have set up an educational centre and offer support and care to the children without names, supporting them with pre-school activities or teaching them in the internal school. Here, the children can get help and support in an uncertain world, as well as self-confidence and a perspective.

In order to support the Franciscans financially in this work in Syria, the “Engelbert-Rosenkranz-Hilfsprojekt” was developed by Mr Josef Brindlinger. The Granate Rosary is made in honour of the Blessed Engelbert Kolland, who worked tirelessly as a pastor in the Holy Land and in Syria. The rosary beads and partly the Francis Cross for this rosary are handmade from olive wood from Bethlehem in what is now the West Bank by a family living there. A garnet bead establishes the connection to the homeland of the Blessed Engelbert Kolland in the Zillertal. He was born in Ramsau in the Zillertal in 1827 and baptised in Zell am Ziller. The heyday of garnet mining in the Zillertal coincides with the lifetime of our Blessed Engelbert Kolland.

The Benedictine nuns in the Säben monastery near Klausen in South Tyrol weave the Engelbert rosaries with loving handicraft. The nuns have centuries of experience in the artistry of convent work. The cordial connection of the nuns with the Zillertal dates back to 1685, when Matthias Jenner, who previously worked as a parish priest and dean in Fügen in the Zillertal, subsequently developed a special relationship with the Säben monastery as dean of Klausen. In Uderns/Finsing, he was confronted with mining. He decided to mine for gold in the Hohe Tauern and for silver at the Villanders mine. Profits from his mine went towards the reconstruction of the Säben monastery.

The Engelbert Kolland Rosary can be ordered for € 50 through the Engelbert Kolland Community or collected directly from the parish office in Zell am Ziller. The amount of € 50 goes entirely to the Engelbert Rosary aid project “Nameless Children”.The rosary sales price of € 50 and/or other donations to the account for the children's aid project of the Franciscans in Syria are tax-deductible.

Please indicate “Syria Aid/Rosary” as the subject of your bank transfer.