The Holy Father has made reference to One Million Children Praying the Rosary” campaign organised by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). during the Angelus prayer last Sunday, saying: “Next Friday, 18 October, the ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ foundation is organising the ‘One million children praying the Rosary for peace in the world’ initiative. Thank you to all the boys and girls who are participating! Let us join with them and entrust to the intercession of Our Lady.”
Hundreds of thousands of children from several countries, including those which are suffering from conflicts, such as Ukraine, Lebanon and the Holy Land, or those where Christian persecution remains fierce, such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Cameroon, have confirmed they will be participating in the prayer campaign.
“Let us entrust to the intercession of Our Lady tormented Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan and the other populations who suffer because of war and any form of violence and misery,” Pope Francis concluded.
According to data published recently by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, 2023 saw a record number of armed conflicts in the world – many of them still ongoing – reaching a total of 59, the highest since data started to be collected in 1946. This makes praying for peace and unity more important than ever, which is why ACN has once again organised the “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” campaign on 18 October, for the nineteenth consecutive year.
The motto for this year, inspired by the message of Our Lady of Fatima, is “Pray the rosary and there will be peace”. The “One Million Children Praying the Rosary initiative” arose from the conviction that the rosary has the capacity to change the world, defeat evil and bring peace, as Our Lady said in Fatima.
The history of the initiative
The “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” campaign is organised by ACN, with the cooperation of the Shrine of Fatima, the Pope’s World Prayer Network, and the World’s Apostolate of Fatima. It began in 2005, in Venezuela, when several women who were praying with children felt inspired by a quote attributed to Padre Pio Pietrelcina: “When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change.”
ACN provides parishes, schools, children’s groups and families with free material, which are available on its website. The material includes guides to praying the rosary, child-friendly reflections on the Sorrowful Mysteries – 18 October this year lands on a Friday – and a prayer for the consecration of children to the Virgin Mary in over 15 languages. Users can also download colouring pages.
