Aid to the Church in Need's ONE MILLION CHILDREN PRAYING THE ROSARY Campaign for Peace and Unity in the World is set for 18 October 2024
WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY OF PRAYER
All over the world, children will be praying the rosary on the 18th of October.
This prayer initiative by AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED aims to rekindle faith in the power of prayer. The worldwide campaign is an invitation to remember the words of Our Lady of Fatima that the childlike and trusting prayer of the rosary can truly change the world, defeat evil and bring peace.
All over the world, children will be praying the rosary on the 18th of October.
This prayer initiative by AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED aims to rekindle faith in the power of prayer. The worldwide campaign is an invitation to remember the words of Our Lady of Fatima that the childlike and trusting prayer of the rosary can truly change the world, defeat evil and bring peace.
Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to join children around the world who are praying the Rosary for peace. In 2022 he Tweeted:
Praying the rosary together with children will strengthen unity in the Church and among peoples. We are all called to form one family across borders, united in prayer.
Out of prayer grows love for God and neighbour. The rosary opens our hearts to concrete help for the persecuted, the needy and the poor in whom Christ himself suffers.
HOW DO YOU JOIN THE PRAYER CAMPAIGN?
We are inviting families, parishes, catechists, teachers to pray the rosary together with children on the 18th of October for peace and unity in the world. We have prepared prayer material for you to spread the word and be inspired when gathering the children to pray the rosary together. (Or just pray the rosary on Oct. 18th with them in Spirit)
Praying the rosary together with children will strengthen unity in the Church and among peoples. We are all called to form one family across borders, united in prayer.
Out of prayer grows love for God and neighbour. The rosary opens our hearts to concrete help for the persecuted, the needy and the poor in whom Christ himself suffers.
HOW DO YOU JOIN THE PRAYER CAMPAIGN?
We are inviting families, parishes, catechists, teachers to pray the rosary together with children on the 18th of October for peace and unity in the world. We have prepared prayer material for you to spread the word and be inspired when gathering the children to pray the rosary together. (Or just pray the rosary on Oct. 18th with them in Spirit)
JOIN: https://acninternational.org/millionchildrenpraying/material/#pray
ABOUT THE PRAYER CAMPAIGN
The main aim of the prayer initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” is to show that the trusting prayer of children can fly like an arrow straight to the heart of God and therefore has such great power. The worldwide common prayer of the rosary by children brings many graces upon the world and is a great blessing for families and the Church.
HOW DID IT START?
The idea for the campaign was born in 2005 in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. While several children were praying the rosary at a wayside shrine, some of the women present had a profound experience of the presence of the Virgin Mary. They immediately thought of Saint Padre Pio’s promise: “When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change.” And that is exactly what this is all about: trusting in the power of childlike prayer. Jesus teaches us: “Unless you become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 18:3).
Over the years since then hundreds of thousands of children have joined in this initiative, and we have received numerous moving testimonies from all over the world. They speak not only of the joy and zeal of the children, but also of how adults, who prayed with them, were themselves touched by grace and have begun to give the rosary a permanent place in their lives.
Why on the 18th of October?
October is for the Church in a special way the month of the rosary. On the 18th of October we celebrate also the feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist. It is he who has handed on to us the story of Jesus’s childhood and, according to tradition, he was closely associated to Our Lady, the Mother of God. So, this is a very appropriate day.
WHY HAS AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED BECOME INVOLVED IN THIS PRAYER CAMPAIGN?
We not only see ourselves as a pastoral charity, but also as a prayer community. In Fatima, Our Lady instructed the three visionary children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta to pray the rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world. The daily project work carried out by ACN in over 140 countries allows us to see first-hand just how greatly Christians and the entire world are suffering from the effects of poverty, terrorism and wars. God alone can bring peace. We can contribute to this – through concrete help, but first and foremost through our prayers.
THE MEANING OF THE ROSARY
As Pope St John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation on the rosary, “The rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is “our peace”. The rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with Christ’s invitation to “pray ceaselessly”, the rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult “battle” for peace can be won.”
ABOUT THE PRAYER CAMPAIGN
The main aim of the prayer initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” is to show that the trusting prayer of children can fly like an arrow straight to the heart of God and therefore has such great power. The worldwide common prayer of the rosary by children brings many graces upon the world and is a great blessing for families and the Church.
HOW DID IT START?
The idea for the campaign was born in 2005 in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. While several children were praying the rosary at a wayside shrine, some of the women present had a profound experience of the presence of the Virgin Mary. They immediately thought of Saint Padre Pio’s promise: “When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change.” And that is exactly what this is all about: trusting in the power of childlike prayer. Jesus teaches us: “Unless you become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 18:3).
Over the years since then hundreds of thousands of children have joined in this initiative, and we have received numerous moving testimonies from all over the world. They speak not only of the joy and zeal of the children, but also of how adults, who prayed with them, were themselves touched by grace and have begun to give the rosary a permanent place in their lives.
Why on the 18th of October?
October is for the Church in a special way the month of the rosary. On the 18th of October we celebrate also the feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist. It is he who has handed on to us the story of Jesus’s childhood and, according to tradition, he was closely associated to Our Lady, the Mother of God. So, this is a very appropriate day.
WHY HAS AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED BECOME INVOLVED IN THIS PRAYER CAMPAIGN?
We not only see ourselves as a pastoral charity, but also as a prayer community. In Fatima, Our Lady instructed the three visionary children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta to pray the rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world. The daily project work carried out by ACN in over 140 countries allows us to see first-hand just how greatly Christians and the entire world are suffering from the effects of poverty, terrorism and wars. God alone can bring peace. We can contribute to this – through concrete help, but first and foremost through our prayers.
THE MEANING OF THE ROSARY
As Pope St John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation on the rosary, “The rosary is by its nature a prayer for peace, since it consists in the contemplation of Christ, the Prince of Peace, the one who is “our peace”. The rosary is also a prayer for peace because of the fruits of charity which it produces. By its nature as an insistent choral petition in harmony with Christ’s invitation to “pray ceaselessly”, the rosary allows us to hope that, even today, the difficult “battle” for peace can be won.”
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