“Holy Cross Family Ministries is an international Catholic apostolate rooted in Marian spirituality under the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Our core mission is to educate families about the power of family prayer and nurture its practice. Guided by the wisdom of our founder, Venerable Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., we uphold his teachings: ‘The family that prays together stays together’ and ‘A world at prayer is a world at peace.”
Holy Cross Family Ministries (HCFM) is a Catholic organization founded by Servant of God Patrick Peyton, CSC, with the mission of promoting family prayer, particularly through the devotion to the Rosary. We (HCFM) operate in various countries worldwide, promoting the family Rosary and prayer, as well as providing family faith-based services and activities.
Father Peyton Life Story
1909
Birth of Patrick Peyton
On January 9, Patrick Joseph Peyton was born to farmers John and Mary Gillard Peyton in County Mayo, Ireland. The sixth of nine kids living in a small cottage on a 14-acre farmland, Patrick was a rebellious child but grew up praying the rosary with his family nightly.
1938
Seminary Life
As a seminarian at the Holy Cross College, he was diagnosed with a severe case of tuberculosis. His teacher, Father Cornelius Hagerty encouraged him to seek the Blessed Virgin Mary’s help.
Through her intercession, he was miraculously healed.
1941
Ordination
On June 15th, Patrick Peyton and his brother Thomas were ordained at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart as members of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He dedicated his life to serving God by bringing a message of hope to families around the world.
1940s
Chaplain
As chaplain of the Holy Cross Brothers at Vincentian Institute in Albany in New York, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton began a mail campaign to the bishops calling for their endorsement of the family rosary in their dioceses.
1940’s
Radio
He secured his first local radio spot and invited a prominent family to pray the rosary on air. It became a regular program due to the overwhelming response.
1945
TV
In 1945, following a guesting of Bing Crosby on Venerable Father Patrick Peyton’s radio show, Father Peyton negotiated with Mutual Broadcasting Co. for his 1st nationwide telecast on Mother’s Day. Realizing the power of artists, Father Peyton recruited Hollywood stars to support his radio campaign for Mary. Over the years he worked with Loretta Young, Raymond Burr, Jimmy Stewart, Rosaline Russell, Ann Blythe, Dorothy Thomas, Lucille Ball and James Dean.
By December 1948 the 1st official headquarters of The Family Theater opened at 7201 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills
1948
Rallies
Bishop John Kidd of Ontario, Canada invited Venerable Father Patrick Peyton to hold a rally about family prayer.
The Rally in Canada was a huge success where over 80,000 families, 95% of the diocese, pledged to faithfully pray the Family Rosary. This was the first of 540 rallies worldwide led by Father Peyton in his lifetime.
1950’s
Advertisments
The Outdoor Advertising Association of America donated billboards to feature Venerable Father Patrick Peyton’s message that “The family that prays together stays together.”
1950’s
Holy Rosary Crusade
Invitations to hold rosary crusades worldwide increased. Venerable Father Patrick Peyton and his volunteer staff developed the Six Mountains for our Lady— a system of preparation for local parishes, the laity and households taking part in organizing the individual crusades. This involved:
40 Holy Hours
40 Masses
Homilies on Family Prayer
Formation for men and women
Hospital and Prison Campaign
The Rosary Rally
1950’s
Film
In the 1950s Venerable Father Patrick Peyton ventured into TV and Film. He took on a massive film project, producing three feature-length epic films in Spain on the life of Christ divided into the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
1955
East Africa
Arriving in 1955 in East Africa, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton in essence was the first missionary of the Congregation of Holy Cross to set foot in East Africa.
1955
East Africa (Contd.)
The beginnings of Holy Cross Family Ministries in East Africa can be traced to the visit of Venerable Father Patrick Peyton in 1955 where he conducted several Rosary Crusades through out East Africa (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania).
1955
East Africa (Contd.)
Venerable Father Patrick Peyton gathered millions of people during the Rosary Crusades in East Africa in 1955 to 1990s.
1955
The Grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary where Venerable Father Patrick Peyton prayed the Rosary with Christians at The Assumption of Mary, Kibosho parish in the Diocese of Kilimanjaro during his first visit to Tanzania.
1955-1990
Father Peyton at a prayer rally in Uganda on August 7, 1955, at St. Henry’s College, Kitovu, Masaka.
There were prayer rallies held in Nakivubo Kampala, Butare in Bushenyi, Virika Fort Portal, Masaka and other parts of East Africa such as Nairobi Kenya. Several people and religious who attended the prayer rallies and still speak highly of the positive experience and the holiness of Venerable Father Patrick Peyton.
1955-1990
Venerable Father Patrick Peyton’s love for Our Lady was strongly felt in East Africa because of the many rosary crusades he held. He encouraged families to pray the ‘’Rosary Prayer’’ together and seek for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1955-1990
Venerable Father Patrick Peyton enticed children to love the Rosary Prayer and our Lady during his visits in East Africa.
1960’s
Latin American Crusades
In the sixties, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton continued with a series of crusades in Latin America. He went to Central America: Colombia and Brazil to counter the threat of communism with hope and prayer. The crusade started providing rosaries to the economically challenged families of Latin America, Asia and Africa.
1970s
Infrastructure
In the seventies, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton envisioned independent satellite offices manned by committed lay and religious leaders to continue his mission. From 1970–1976 he started recruitment and training of priests to head the offices in Latin America and other parts of the world.
Father Peyton began meeting with local businessmen to ensure continuous funding for the perpetuation of his work.
1980s
Meeting with JPII
In 1980, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton had the honor of meeting (Saint) Pope John Paul II. The Pontiff shared his passion for promoting family prayer. In his 2002 letter on the rosary titled Rosarium Virginis Mariae he writes:
“The family that recites the Rosary together reproduces something of the atmosphere of the household of Nazareth: its members place Jesus at the center, they share his joys and sorrows, they place their needs and their plans in his hands, they draw from him the hope and the strength to go on.”
1980s
Meeting with Mother Teresa
In the eighties, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton through Family Theater made several productions to further promote family values, among them were several season specials featuring prominent personalities like Princess Grace of Monaco and Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
1990
Corporation
In June, the Board of Directors of Family Rosary and Family Theater met and created the new corporate structure to oversee the mission work of Venerable Father Patrick Peyton worldwide.
1992
Death
Suffering from congestive heart failure, Venerable Father Patrick Peyton chose to live with the Little Sisters of the Poor in San Pedro, California.
On June 3, Father Peyton died peacefully in his small room at the age of 83, holding a rosary and uttering his final words– “Mary, my queen, my mother.”
His remains were buried on June 8 at the Holy Cross Cemetery at Stonehill College in North Easton,
Massachusetts. Throughout his priesthood, his love for Mary and Jesus fueled his desire to share the fruits of the Rosary as a family prayer.
2020
Biography
On October 9 Family Theater Productions (FTP) released Pray: The Story of Venerable Father Patrick Peyton. FTP National Director, Fr. David Guffey, executive produced the biographical semi-documentary that has been released worldwide.