Between 700 and 1,000 children will pray a rosary for peace with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 1 at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, part of a prayer initiative promoted by Aid to the Church in Need.
Coming from schools and parishes throughout Rome, the children will join the pontiff in the "One Million Children Praying the Rosary" campaign organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
They will also be spiritually united with children, families, schools, and Christian communities around the world in an event marking the beginning of the global week during which the prayer initiative is observed.
During that week, any diocese, parish, religious community, school, or family anywhere in the world can participate. The week concludes on Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Inspired by the message of Fátima
The 2026 campaign is inspired by the message received by the children at Fátima: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of ACN International and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said in particular that "the Immaculate Heart of Mary represents a life completely open to the Holy Spirit and presents Mary as a model of faith, love, and prayer."
According to ACN, "the initiative takes on special significance at a time when millions of people are facing war, violence, persecution, poverty, and uncertainty." For this reason, the prayer campaign "seeks to be a simple yet universal sign of trust and hope: children of different languages, cultures, and countries united in the same prayer for peace."
The origins: Padre Pio and Venezuela 20 years ago
The "One Million Children Praying the Rosary" initiative began in Venezuela in 2005. Today it has become a worldwide prayer movement involving children, families, parishes, schools, and Church groups on every continent, inspired by the words of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, who said that "when 1 million children pray the rosary, the world will change."
ACN said the invitation is not limited to children and that praying an entire rosary is not required: "Even a single decade prayed with faith can become part of this global chain of prayer."
The pontifical foundation also provides prayer materials in several languages and asks participants to register so that the network of children joining the prayer in different countries can be displayed on a map.
The initiative is organized in collaboration with the Shrine of Fátima, the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, and the World Apostolate of Fátima. This year, World Rosary Day is also joining the campaign for the first time.
Bolivia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Paraguay
The prayers of Pope Leo XIV and the children of Rome will be joined by prayer gatherings planned in locations around the world, "from the Bolivian Amazon to parishes in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and many other places affected by war, poverty, or instability," ACN said.
In war-torn Sudan, Father Franck Mandozi of the Kosti Pastoral Region confirmed that children from several parishes and schools will take part. From the Tsimané Indigenous community in the Bolivian Amazon, Sister Patricia Alejandra Botello López said they will pray in both their local language and Spanish.
Children from St. Christopher Parish in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, will gather on Sunday, Oct. 4, to pray with their pastor, Father Charles Mafurutu, who in the following weeks will travel to other communities.
In Paraguay, Radio Pa'i Puku plans to promote the initiative through its broadcasts and will carry a live transmission of the rosary prayed by children at St. Eugene de Mazenod Parish.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
