Pope Leo XIV will pray the Rosary for peace on October 1st alongside between 700 and 1,000 children from schools and parishes in Rome. The gathering will take place at 5:00 p.m. in the Lourdes Grotto of the Vatican Gardens and will mark the beginning of a worldwide week of prayer that will bring together children, families, parishes, and Christian communities from numerous countries.
The celebration will launch the campaign “A Million Children Praying the Rosary,” promoted for over twenty years by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). For the first time, the initiative will not be concentrated on a single day but will extend from October 1 to 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
A Week of Prayer for Peace
This extension will allow dioceses, parishes, schools, religious communities, and families to choose the most suitable day to join the initiative, while maintaining the same intention of prayer for peace and unity.
While Leo XIV prays with the children at the Vatican, communities from different continents will join the Rosary spiritually. Celebrations are already being prepared in countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone, several of which are affected by war, poverty, or situations of instability.
In Sudan, children from various parishes and schools in the Pastoral Region of Kosti are expected to participate. In the Bolivian Amazon, children from a Tsimane indigenous community will pray the Rosary both in their own language and in Spanish. In Zimbabwe, St. Christopher’s Parish in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo will gather the children on Sunday, October 4.
From Venezuela to the Vatican
“A Million Children Praying the Rosary” was born in Venezuela in 2005 and later spread to numerous countries. The initiative is inspired by a phrase attributed to St. Pio of Pietrelcina: “When a million children pray the Rosary, the world will change.”
The 2026 campaign also draws on the message of Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Cardinal Kurt Koch, international president of Aid to the Church in Need and prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, recalled on the occasion of the announcement that the Immaculate Heart of Mary represents a life entirely open to the Holy Spirit and presents the Virgin as a model of faith, love, and prayer.
The initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Sanctuary of Fatima, the World Network of Prayer of the Pope, and the World Apostolate of Fatima. This year’s edition will also include the World Rosary Day for the first time.
ACN has invited not only children but also parents, teachers, priests, religious, and catechists to participate. The foundation notes that it is not necessary to pray the entire Rosary and even suggests a decade as a way to join the worldwide chain of prayer.