Teens Explore Creative Prayer at Illustrated Rosary Workshop


This past summer, three teen prayer groups came together for a special evening of faith and creativity: an Illustrated Rosary Workshop led by local artist and parishioner Julie Tiu. Organized by Daniela Romano, Director of Youth Ministry at Mary, Seat of Wisdom Parish in Park Ridge, the gathering invited teens to pray the rosary in a hands-on, artistic way using zentangle-inspired designs.

Romano, who oversees both the parish’s Crux teen group and Junior Crux for junior high students, emphasizes offering young people diverse prayer experiences. “Everyone prays differently, and I thought our students should also have this experience,” she explained.

Julie Tiu, a certified zentangle artist, has previously collaborated with the parish on creative prayer workshops. She often journals and doodles during Mass as a way of reflecting on Scripture and prayer. For this workshop, she showed the teens her prayer journals and taught them techniques for drawing patterns that represented rosary beads. Each teen created unique illustrations, together forming an “illustrated rosary.”

The impact was immediate. “One girl told me, ‘I can totally use this when I’m having anxious thoughts. I could really use this to calm myself down,’” Romano shared. For many, the experience reframed the rosary as a source of comfort and peace beyond the traditional beads. Romano hopes the workshop showed teens that prayer can be both spiritual and restorative. “You don’t have to have the actual beads with you. You can pray it anywhere, and it can bring you comfort,” she said. “And when you participate in creative art, it’s a different kind of rest. You don’t have time to be lost in yourself because you’re creating something.”

The evening also carried special meaning for the seniors in the group, many of whom have since started college. “I was so glad they had this experience before graduation. It’s something that will stay with them and help them refocus,” Romano reflected.

As Mary, Seat of Wisdom Parish continues exploring creative ways to nurture the faith of young people, Romano sees workshops like this as an important part of her ministry. “Not every person responds well to traditional forms of prayer like adoration. Some teens get anxious, and that’s okay. My goal is to give them different opportunities—ways they can be present in the moment with their faith.”

The parish hopes to offer more illustrated rosary projects in the future, inspired by the joy and renewal this gathering sparked.