Pope Leo XIV will join hundreds of children in praying the Rosary for peace on October 1 at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens. The event will begin at 5:00 p.m. Rome time (11 am EST), with the Pope joining the children later to pray the Rosary.
Thus the Pope will lead the way in fulfilling an appeal he has reiterated for this month of the Rosary. In Lourdes last Sunday, he said:
I would like to make an appeal that is particularly close to my heart, here in this place. It was here that the Immaculate Virgin appeared to Saint Bernadette with the rosary and, as it were, guided her in prayer. For this reason, today I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy Rosary throughout the coming month of October, with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.
Between 700 and 1,000 children from schools and parishes in Rome are expected to attend the October 1 event.
The gathering will mark the beginning of the worldwide week of prayer for the “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative, promoted by the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) for more than 20 years.
This year, for the first time, the campaign will take place over an entire week, from October 1-7, allowing dioceses, parishes, schools, communities, and families on different continents to choose the day best suited to their pastoral circumstances, while remaining united in the same intention of prayer for peace and unity. The week will culminate on October 7, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Children around the world united in prayer
While children in Rome pray with Pope Leo XIV, similar initiatives are already being prepared in many countries, from indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon to parishes in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many other places affected by war, poverty, or instability.
The 2026 campaign is inspired by the message of Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
The “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative began in Venezuela in 2005 and has gradually grown into a worldwide prayer movement involving children, families, parishes, schools, and Church groups on every continent. The campaign is inspired by the words attributed to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina: “When one million children pray the Rosary, the world will change.”
However, the invitation is not addressed only to children. ACN also encourages parents, teachers, priests, religious, catechists, and families to pray with them. It is not necessary to pray the entire Rosary: even a single decade, prayed in faith, can become part of this worldwide chain of prayer.
ACN provides prayer materials in several languages and invites participants to register their participation, helping to make visible on a map the network of children joining the prayer in different countries.
The international initiative is organized in collaboration with the Shrine of Fatima, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, and the World Apostolate of Fatima. This year, World Rosary Day is also joining the campaign for the first time.
