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 “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” prayer campaign, organised by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The Holy Father also made reference to the initiative this Sunday, during the Angelus prayer, 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.”
“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.
On the ACN website alone, over 375,000 children have already committed to praying the rosary for peace and unity on 18 October, but many schools and parishes have not signed up on the website or do not have access to internet. At the moment, the countries on the online map with the most children enrolled in the initiative are Poland (72,712), Brazil (56,490), and the United Kingdom (49,238). Colombia with 10,839, the USA (9,563) and Canada (3,174) are some of the countries from the Americas that are also taking part. Oceania is represented by Australia (4,174) and also the small island nation of Vanuatu, with over 1,000 participants. In Asia, 34,929 children from the Philippines will be taking part, along with 10,596 from India and 1,053 from Vietnam.
Other European countries include Hungary with 16,501 children, Germany with 3,656 and Slovakia with 27,715, among others. Finally, Africa’s representation includes Cameroon (1,020), Madagascar (1,100) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (2,450). ACN is aware that many groups do not officially enrol and that others only inform the foundation after the event. Last year, over 1 million participated and there are hopes that this year that number could be surpassed.
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.
In Portugal, children will be praying the rosary with Cardinal António Marto in the Chapel of the Apparitions, in Fátima, a famous Marian shrine. 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 pontifical foundation has received inspiring messages from several parts of the world, about big and small initiatives to support the prayer campaign, such as Peru, with Sister María Jacinta, the superior of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Quillabamba, commenting that thanks to the donations they usually receive, the sisters have been able to purchase 500 rosaries to distribute to the children during the event. Furthermore, a group of enthusiastic parishioners will be providing food and refreshments to participants after the prayer. “All of this is a blessing from God, it is all His work,” she told ACN.
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.
By Lucía Ballester.
