Private Samual (Sam) Balistreri uncovered a sliver of the True Cross of Christ during the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, France. Sam’s platoon went in to secure a bombed castle that had been decimated, along with a chapel inside. Upon entering the remains of the chapel, the soldier saw the large crucifix had fallen, and the head of Jesus had as well. When he stood the cross back up and replaced the head of the corpus, something fell out. He recognized it as a relic, so he carefully protected it and brought it home to the United States. The relic was originally sealed by the Vatican and later authenticated by Father Carlos Martins.   

This relic would later be touched to thousands of Combat Rosaries made by Roman Catholic Gear and given to service men and women, firefighters, police officers, and first responders through the charity, Combat Rosaries for Heroes.

Father Richard Heilman, a pastor in the Diocese of Madison, WI established the Knights of Divine Mercy which called Catholic men to grow in spiritual strength and embrace the rich traditions of the Catholic Church. The apostolate fosters masculine spirituality, heroic virtue, and equips men to become strong soldiers of Christ.

On Divine Mercy Sunday in 2007, 85 men were inducted into the Knights of Divine Mercy and given a steel rosary with the Divine Mercy image on each bead for strength, as well as three medals: the St. Benedict Medal, for courage; the Miraculous Medal, to spread the message of Mary; and the Crusader Cross, for evangelization. 

Fr. Heilman said, “We really see this knighting as an empowerment and to arm men with the great tools of our faith. I want men to rediscover the treasury of Catholic devotions. 

If men are going to be the spiritual leaders of their own domestic church, we simply must explore these time-tested and Church approved jewels of our Catholic life.”

As Father Heilman sought to equip the Knights of Divine Mercy with strong tools of faith, he discovered an intriguing rosary on a collector’s website: an original World War I military rosary. The description indicated it was commissioned and procured by the U.S. government in 1916, and issued by the military upon request to soldiers serving in World War I.  Some of these rosaries were also seen in WWII. The soldiers usually referred to them as “Service Rosaries.” Father Heilman thought to himself, “The men need to have these.”

Father Heilman purchased one of these antique 1916 ‘service rosaries’. He couldn’t pay the high collectors’ price for all of the Knights of Divine Mercy, so in the fall of 2012, he developed a prototype for a new rosary based on the 1916 model and placed the first order. “I didn’t want to make an exact replica of the original. I wanted to respect the original that way. Instead, I wanted to make one based on the original, but well suited for us warriors – the Church Militant – to do full-on spiritual warfare. It was time to choose the most powerful medals and crucifix. I wanted it to be a powerful supernatural weapon, so I picked the Miraculous Medal and added the St. Benedict Medal as well and then … the Pardon Crucifix. It’s the only one that if you carry or kiss it, you receive an indulgence.” (Heilman as cited in Legatus, May 2020).

The rosary was named, and remains, the original, authentic, Combat Rosary™. Its name pays honor to the armed forces who carried the original “service rosaries” into physical combat as they sought to attain peace, and calls on the faithful to wield the powerful prayer of the rosary as they engage spiritual combat, seeking the victory of peace.

Father Heilman worked with a parishioner to assemble and distribute The Combat Rosary™.  As demand for The Combat Rosary™ grew, Father reached out to his family for help producing the rosary, while he remained focused on his ministry.

A small business owned and operated by a family member was established to produce and distribute The Combat Rosary™.

The small business took on the name, "Roman Catholic Gear, "and introduced additional durable products to equip the faithful with products and manuals to help them stand firm and fight the good fight of faith.

More than a decade later, many of the flagship products are still as popular today, arming the faithful with tools for spiritual battle.

The Combat Rosary™ stands out as one of the most durable rosaries available on the market today, crafted to withstand the test of time and backed by a lifetime guarantee. Each rosary is meticulously hand-assembled in the USA using medals and materials sourced from the USA and Italy.

On the 100th year anniversary of the original WWI pull chain ‘service rosary’, Father Heilman gave a Combat Rosary™ to approximately 150 new recruits of the Pontifical Swiss Guard. 

The Guard commander stated The Combat Rosary™ was “the most powerful weapon that exists on the market … Literally, the rosary for the fight.”

The Pontifical Swiss Guard is the armed force and honor guard unit maintained by the Holy See that protects the Pope and the Apostolic Palace within the territory of the Vatican City State. Established in 1506 under Pope Julius II, the Pontifical Swiss Guard is among the oldest military units in continuous operation.

Roman Catholic Gear joined forces with the United States Grace Force®, selling their gear along with The Combat Rosary™.

The United States Grace Force (USGF)® is a “special operations force” specifically trained in spiritual warfare and intercessory prayer. The USGF capabilities include the large-scale use of powerful supernatural weapons (sacramentals, etc.) and prayers. While there are various special operations, the primary mission of the USGF is to implore God’s protection and blessing on our nation, especially imploring God’s protection (“Got Your Six”) for those who put their lives on the line to protect and defend our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Roman Catholic Gear became a licensee with the Knights of Columbus® to sell a Knights of Columbus® version of The Combat Rosary™. 

Roman Catholic Gear began supplying The Combat Rosary™ to Combat Rosaries for Heroes (CR4H), a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity that provides free Combat Rosaries™ to U.S. military personnel, law enforcement and first responders.

"Men and women throughout history have relied on the Holy Rosary for strength, comfort and protection. We want to arm our heroes with the Combat Rosary." - Fr. Richard Heilman

Roman Catholic Gear came under new ownership with Mario Balistreri, the grandson of Private Sam Balistreri mentioned earlier.  

Mario had consulted for the business for a number of years. He was perfectly suited to bring a fresh perspective while reinforcing the founding mission of Roman Catholic Gear: preparing the faithful to stand firm against the tactics of evil.

Our hope lies in Jesus Christ! We aim to bring together a community of Catholics to prepare our hearts and minds for a life devoted to seeking out a strong relationship with Jesus Christ (and all His saints). 

Together we follow the dogmas of the Catholic faith. 

We aim to provide tools to remain faithful to His church and the sacraments.  

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