Fr. Christopher Saliga, O.P., Sr. Margaret Oettinger, O.P., Br. Ignatius Perkins, O.P., and Br. Augustine Reisenauer, O.P., have co-authored a poster presentation entitled "The Rosary at the Bedside: A Helpful Concretized Meditative Practice." Their work will be presented at the third annual meeting of The Society for Spirituality, Theology & Health, which will focus on the topic "Religion & Health: Interdisciplinary Engagement & Interpretation."  Hosted by Duke University, the conference will run June 16-18, 2010.

The abstract for the presentation reads:

Herein, a history and theology of the Rosary as a concrete meditative prayer tool is provided. Then, the results of an informal qualitative survey (personal interviews) given to a convenience sample of 40 self-identified Catholic patients at Hospital for Special Surgery indicate that positive effects, such as comfort to the lonely and suffering, occur in conjunction with this meditative practice. One patient states "I am not alone when I pray the Rosary;" another claims "When I pray the Rosary, I feel that I do have a companion in my suffering;" while another shares "the Rosary gives me the opportunity to celebrate life, hope, and God's promises." Given the full list of responses and limited research on the subject, further qualitative or narrative research regarding holistic effects on patients praying the Rosary is encouraged.

Who are these Dominicans?

Fr. Christopher M Saliga, O.P., is the Chaplain and an adjunct Bioethics Lecturer at Walsh University in North Canton, OH. He also serves on the Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee at the University of Akron and as an ethics consultant to the Dominican Friars Health Care Ministry of New York, which is located at the Priory of St. Catherine of Siena on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Sr. Margaret Oettinger, O.P., is the Director of Pastoral Care at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. She also serves as Coordinator of the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for the Dominican Friars Healthcare Ministry of New York.

Br. Ignatius Perkins, O.P., is the Dean of Nursing at Aquinas College in Nashville, TN. He is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. He has recently completed his tenure as Project Manager of the Dominican Friars Healthcare Ministry of New York.

Br. Augustine Reisenauer, O.P., is currently studying for priestly ordination at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC.

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