A Rosary’s Peace

In this week’s edition of The Bright Side,  we shine a spotlight on the inspiring story of Aspinal Welch, a determined young man who, despite facing the challenges of navigating life in a wheelchair, is actively pursuing his aspirations.  Aspinal is a dedicated craftsman, making rosaries by hand at a Catholic Church in Belize City.  Tonight’s feature not only showcases his commitment to his craft, but also his resilience in overcoming physical constraints. Here’s that story.

Sabreena Daly, Reporting

Thirty-three-year-old Aspinal Welch is wheeling himself out of his home and starting his journey to work. This is a weekly endeavor, where he makes his way to ButtonWood Bay. His destination is Divine Mercy Church. In a building at the back, Aspinal situates himself to start his day.

Aspinal Welch

Aspinal Welch, Rosary Maker

“I’m Aspinal and I make Rosaries for a living.”

Welch stumbled upon his vocation three months ago, when he met a priest at a fruit stall in his neighborhood.

Aspinal Welch
“I never had finance, and I couldn’t pay my rent or stuff, so I was shoving myself around, frustrated, depressed, and I was going to go through a lot. I went up the street by the fruit shop,  where I live, and I met this priest. He came up to me, and he started talking to me. I told him, well, I need a job.”

Scott Giuliani

Fr. Scott Giuliani, Pastor, Divine Mercy

“There’s a couple things that got my attention, and it’s when you start to hear the situation you begin to realize that, okay, how is he living? What was in the back of your mind? So I just wanted to get him in the community.  Really, that was my main desire. And so I said, well, why don’t you just come to work for a day?  A day a week, you know, that’s all it is. You know, minimum wage and you can come make rosaries. We just recently blessed the rosary making corner and so often when we go to visit families or when I go to the hospital, we bring people looking for rosaries to pray and we share them. And so I said, well, maybe you can start creating the rosaries and see what happens.”

Aspinal now earns a modest salary of forty dollars, yet he grapples with the daunting task of covering his weekly rent of eighty dollars. This constant struggle forces him to prioritize the roof over his head, which often results in foregoing basic needs such as food.

Aspinal Welch
“Despite the fact that I need food and stuff to eat I would put that aside because I know my rent is very important because I need a roof over my head and I can’t be on the street, you know, due to my condition and stuff. It’s very hard. I have to be out there hustling. Sometimes I have to be out there begging people. I have to… Sometimes I have to take even disrespect or shame, like, no, like people would tell me no, but  despite that I don’t make that break my courage.”

Making rosaries has strengthened Aspinal’s resolve, understandably so. According to Father Guiliani, the rosary represents a source of peace.

Aspinal Welch

“I made this rosary for myself. This is my personal rosary and  this was blessed by the Father. I can’t give it away. I can’t sell it. I can’t do anything with this one. This one is for my personal use. Before, I used to wear this like a necklace but now it means so much to me because the Father here teaches me how to pray with the rosary. That’s the step that they give me. That is my step so that i can be in here every day and try to pray with the rosary. This is one Our Father, three Hail Mary and Our Father, they mystery, then ten Hail Mary, one Our Father, you know?”

Fr. Scott Giuliani

“Through the rosaries, there’ve been countless numbers of miracles, through the power of intercession of the rosary.  It’s a source of peace. People overcome from vice. You can’t pray the rosary and continue sinning.  If you, if you persevere in, in praying the rosary, you’ll overcome every sin.”

For Welch, making these rosaries involves prayer and deep reflection. He looks back at the life-changing event that led him to divine intervention.

Aspinal Welch
“I wasn’t a part of a gang, but my brother was and at the time he got shot, I went to help him  and I got shot as well. And by God’s good mercy, the shooter was coming out of his vehicle to finish the job and there was a police officer at the time on his verandah with his licensed firearm and the shooter saw him and sped off.”

That incident was six years ago. It has left Welch confined to a wheelchair.  He shares how his life shifted from depression to peace through the connection of a rosary.

Aspinal Welch
“At first, I never wanted to come out. I never wanted to be around people. I was depressed every day.  I just wanted to be alone. I just want to be in my room and locked up by myself. And now I  say, you know what? I need to come out. I need to be around people. From ever since I start doing that, And I start make the rosary, start praying the rosary and learning process, I watched like positive change start happening for me.”

Fr. Scott Giuliani
“I’m hoping that eventually though, it’ll be like a little business, that he’ll, he’ll be fully independent. So he won’t even have that minimum daily wage, but it’ll be a little business that he’ll be doing. And now that he’s got these metal rosaries going, it may actually happen, you know? Because they’re really, they’re very beautiful, right?  Even now, beyond that, we’re looking for some land over that place, or at least someone that would be willing to give him permission to build a house on the land. We have a mission team coming in February to build a little wood house, but he would just need permission to build on it.”

As Welch meticulously links each bead, he weaves a string of hope, serving as a reminder that, in the face of life-changing moments, one has the ability to find strength, purpose, and a profound connection to a higher purpose.

Looking on the Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly.