Pope Leo XIV to pray the Rosary for peace with children in the Vatican Gardens
The pope will join up to 1,000 children from Rome's schools and parishes on October 1 at the Lourdes Grotto to open a week of worldwide prayer organized by Aid to the Church in Need
Pope Leo XIV will join between 700 and 1,000 children from schools and parishes in Rome on October 1 to pray the Rosary for peace at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens. The event, set for 5 p.m., will open the week of prayer for the One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, which the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has run for more than two decades.
The children in Rome will join spiritually with families, parishes and Christian communities around the world. For the first time, the campaign runs for a full week, from October 1 to 7. Dioceses, parishes and schools on different continents can choose the day that best fits their pastoral calendar, keeping the same prayer intention for peace and unity. The week ends on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7.
Many other countries are organizing their own events. In Sudan, Father Franck Mandozi has confirmed that children from several parishes and schools will take part. In the T'siman indigenous community in the Bolivian Amazon, Sister Patricia Alejandra Botello López said the children already pray the Rosary in their native language and in Spanish. In Zimbabwe, St. Christopher parish in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo will gather children on October 4, and its pastor, Father Charles Mafurutu, plans to visit remote communities in the weeks that follow. In Paraguay, Radio Pa'i Puku will carry a live broadcast of the Rosary prayed by children of San Eugenio de Mazenod parish. Communities in Mozambique and Sierra Leone will also take part, along with others in places affected by war and poverty.
The 2026 campaign draws on the message of Fatima: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." Cardinal Kurt Koch, international president of ACN and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said the Immaculate Heart of Mary represents a life completely open to the Holy Spirit. He presented the Virgin Mary as a model of faith, love and prayer.
The One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign began in Venezuela in 2005 and has grown into a worldwide prayer movement involving children, families, parishes and church groups on every continent. It takes its inspiration from words attributed to St. Pio of Pietrelcina: "When a million children pray the Rosary, the world will change."
ACN is encouraging parents, teachers and priests to join the prayer. Praying the full Rosary is not required: even a single decade, prayed with faith, can form part of the international chain of prayer. World Rosary Day is included in the campaign for the first time this year.
Based on reporting by Laura Clavería for Iglesia Noticias. This article was translated and adapted from Spanish with the help of artificial intelligence.
