One million children praying the Rosary can change the world
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) invites all parishes, nurseries, schools, and families to participate in the organization’s annual event, One Million Children Praying the Rosary, on October 18. “The Rosary is highly valued by God, and praying it is more necessary than ever, for two reasons: firstly, because the mother of God asked for it in the apparitions that have been approved by the Church! And secondly, because it is part of the experience of the Church, and of many of its saints, as confirmed by the Magisterium and in keeping with the sensitivity of our Christian faith,” says Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, president of ACN.
In this year’s campaign, ACN invites children to meditate on the Biblical passage in which St. Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to immediately leave for Egypt. Thanks to the help of God’s messenger, Joseph was able to protect the life of the infant Jesus.
“It is imperative that our world recovers the concept of guardian angels, to whom we can turn for help, so that we may clearly recognize and distinguish the many different challenges of our time. Shouldn’t we start teaching our children the prayer to the guardian angel, which was a staple of the Church’s life for many centuries?” asks the Cardinal, in his invitation to join the initiative.
With war, violence, and extreme poverty in countries like Ukraine, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Pakistan, as well as in other regions of the Middle East and Africa, ACN wishes to entrust to God, through the powerful intercession of His Mother, all the places and people who cannot live in peace.
In previous years, groups from different countries responded positively to ACN’s invitation to participate. In 2022, Pope Francis, after the Angelus prayer, encouraged the faithful to join them: “I thank all the children who are participating! Let us join them and entrust to Our Lady’s intercession the martyred people of Ukraine and all others who are suffering due to war and any form of violence or poverty.”
Free resources to help with prayers in parishes, schools, groups, or families can be found on ACN’s website. The package contains instructions on how to pray the Rosary, reflections for children about the Mysteries of the Rosary, and a prayer for the consecration of children to the mother of God. The package is available in eleven languages and includes pictures to color.
The prayer initiative began in 2005, when a group of children were seen praying the Rosary at a local shrine in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, and some of the adults who witnessed the scene were reminded of the words of Padre Pio: “When a million children pray the Rosary, the world will change.” Since then, the campaign has spread rapidly and become a worldwide phenomenon.
—Maria Lozano
