Mother of 21 children to speak at prayer breakfast

On Saturday, May 10, Magnificat, a ministry to Catholic women, will sponsor a prayer breakfast from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with seating at 8:30 a.m., at Bell Tower Place at The Church of Holy Apostles, 5211 W. Bull Valley Road, McHenry. The guest speaker will be Rose Malavolti. Tickets are $20. Seating is limited.

Rose and her husband, Alan, are parents to 21 children including 17 adopted from Mexico and Haiti. The family lives in Rockford, raising livestock, gardening and preserving their homegrown food to feed their extra-large family.

Rose worked for many years as an educator both as school principal and teacher to all grades from Pre-K through college as well as R.C.I.A and C.C.D. classes at her parish. She has served on more than 14 boards for the Rockford Diocese and represented Catholic schools on the Regional advisory board for the state of Illinois.

She has shared her incredible story on the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, E.W.T.N., and also in Readers Digest, Catholic Digest, Family Voice, The Associated Press articles and many others.

To request tickets by mail until Friday, May 2, call Dee Slowey (815) 893-4061, specify if you are with a group of four or more when calling. Tickets also are available until May 7 at The Little Way in Crystal Lake and Bell Tower Gifts and Books in McHenry.