Editorial
Like Pope Leo and the children, let’s pray the rosary for peace
“When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change.”
—St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio
Talk about “strength in numbers.”
And the power of having countless people praying for the same intention in various languages.
That reality was evident last week during an evening of prayer at the Vatican on Oct. 1. And it continues.
Pope Leo XIV prayed the rosary with hundreds of children and their families at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens on that day after the Holy Father invited Catholics to pray the rosary throughout the month of October for peace in the world.
“Tonight and in these coming days, we are not alone in prayer. Across the globe, one million children are praying with us,” Pope Leo told the children as reported by OSV News.
“One million! Just think: 50 million ‘Hail Marys’ rising to heaven from every corner of the Earth and in every language, asking for peace, and coming together as if in a single, immense rosary, to embrace and bind together all the continents, races and nations of the planet,” he said.
The gathering came just days after Pope Leo visited the original Marian grotto in Lourdes, France, where the Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
The rosary with the pope at the Vatican Gardens was part of the “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative organized by Aid to the Church in Need, a pontifical foundation that supports persecuted and suffering Christians around the world. The initiative began in Venezuela in 2005 and has since grown into a universal prayer movement involving children, families, parishes, schools and Church groups across the globe.
The 2026 initiative was the first-ever campaign taking place over an entire week—from Oct. 1-7—allowing communities around the world to choose a day suited to their pastoral circumstances while uniting in prayer for peace and unity. The campaign concluded on Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
“Tonight, we’ve gathered to be together with the two people who love us more than anyone else. Do you know who they are?” the pope asked. “The Lord Jesus and his mother Mary, who never leave us alone and who are always close to us.”
Our universal shepherd encouraged the children to shout, “I love you, Jesus!” and “I love you, Mary!”
He continued, “Yes, we love you, Jesus and Mary, and tonight we ask you for a special gift: peace for all the children of the world, especially for those living in war-torn areas in so many countries around the world. We do this through the prayer of the Holy Rosary, which is a simple prayer that everyone can recite.”
The children recited the “Hail Mary” in several languages, including Italian, Arabic, Urdu, German and Spanish, offering decades of the rosary for peace in Syria, Lebanon, South Sudan, Cuba, Venezuela and other countries across the globe.
The campaign draws inspiration from words attributed to St. Pio of Pietrelcina, commonly known as Padre Pio: “When one million children pray the rosary, the world will change.”
The 2026 campaign was also inspired by the message of Our Lady of Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” She spoke those words on
July 13, 1917, during her third appearance to the three shepherd children SS. Francisco and Jacinta Marto and Lucia dos Santos, who was declared “venerable’ by Pope Francis in June 2023.
We believe it is a beautiful witness of faith when children and their families come together to pray for a similar intention. And to have the initiative led by Pope Leo offers a powerful reminder of how critical he believes it is for humanity to strive for peace.
The pope also reminded the children at the Vatican that prayer must be tied to acts of charity.
“Prayers must always be accompanied by good deeds and acts of love. That’s how peace grows!” he said.
In our call to holiness during this Respect Life Month and beyond, we pray all families—including children—become instruments of peace in our world.
—Mike Krokos