Pope Leo Joins 700 Children in Vatican Rosary for Peace amid Global Conflicts

About 1,300 people, including 700 children, joined Pope Leo XIV in praying the Rosary at the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on October 1, asking for peace for children affected by war and violence worldwide.

The gathering launched the annual Aid to the Church in Need initiative “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” which unites children and communities worldwide in prayer from October 1 to 7.

According to Vatican News, participants from parishes and schools around Rome recited the five decades of the Rosary in Italian, Spanish, Urdu, German and Arabic, reflecting the initiative’s global reach.

Before the prayer, Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said the initiative invited children to discover that “together with Mary, they can bring the sufferings of the world to Jesus.”

“It is precisely the voices of the youngest, who entrust themselves to him with confidence, that find a special welcome in the heart of God,” Cardinal Koch said.

The weeklong initiative draws attention to the suffering and hopes of people worldwide, including children in Ukraine and other victims of war, families in Lebanon, Syria and the Holy Land, persecuted Christians in Pakistan and elsewhere, reconciliation in South Sudan, and families in Cuba and Venezuela.

“As we contemplate the risen Christ, we ask that fear and hatred may not have the final word,” Cardinal Koch said.

Pope Leo expressed his joy at joining the children, parents and priests, encouraging them to ask Jesus and Mary for “a special gift: peace for all the children of the world, especially those who live in places where there is war, in so many countries around the world.”

He described the Rosary as a “simple prayer that everyone can pray” and said the flowers offered by the children at the beginning of each decade were signs of love.

Pope Leo emphasized that the gathering in the Vatican Gardens was part of a much wider movement of prayer, with about one million people participating worldwide.

“Fifty million ‘Hail Marys’ rising to Heaven from every part of the world and in every language, asking for peace, joining together like one enormous Rosary, embracing all the continents, peoples, and nations of the world,” he said.

The Pope also reminded the children that praying for peace calls them to act with kindness at home, at school, in catechism classes and while playing with others.

“Prayers must also be accompanied by good deeds and acts of love,” he said. “That is how peace grows.”