More than one million children pray for peace
For the first time since the initiative began in 2005, the milestone of one million children in prayer for peace and unity was surpassed on October 18th, 2023.
Last year, 871,523 children participated in the One Million Children Praying the Rosary prayer campaign. This year, the number was 1,039,628, and since many children also participated without registering online, the actual number is probably higher.
Poland, where the ACN campaign is increasingly popular, recorded the highest number of participants on the website, with 275,000 children. There, the communal prayer of the Rosary was said with kindergarten children, among others, at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Zakopane. And thanks to online broadcasts, families, schools, and hospitalized children also took part. The other top participants were Slovakia (more than 156,000 children), the Philippines (more than 136,000), the United Kingdom, (more than 77,000), and Brazil (just under 47,000). The campaign website received many touching pictures and e-mails from all over the world. From the Congo alone, where only 1,300 children registered on the website, ACN received messages from more than 80 schools and ecclesiastical institutions where the Rosary was prayed. In just three of the schools, more than 5,000 children were present.
Participation in many crisis areas
Among the 124 participating countries were war-torn Nigeria, Nicaragua, Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine. And besides praying the Rosary, children in countries like India and Pakistan also re-enacted Biblical scenes and made creative use of the coloring templates on the campaign website.
“We are very thankful for the many children’s hands joined in prayer around the world. It is impressive to see how many children asked for Our Lady’s intercession for peace. The overwhelming participation in the initiative shows the great concern and longing for peace, and a great willingness to pray for it,” said Father Anton Lässer, Ecclesiastical Assistant of ACN International.
Cardinal Antonio Marto, Bishop Emeritus of Leiria-Fatima, Portugal, who presided over the Rosary prayers at the Shrine at Fatima, said: “We have all come here with the special intention of praying this Rosary to Our Lady to obtain, through her intercession, the gift of peace for this world at war, especially in the land where Jesus and Our Lady walked, in Ukraine, and in other places where war has broken out.”
The cardinal also recalled that Pope Francis invited all the faithful and people of good will to another day of prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land on October 27th.
—Sina Hartert
