---
title: Pope Leo XIV to Pray Rosary for Peace with Hundreds of Children in Vatican
url: https://www.faithfulnews.com/en/pope-leo-xiv-to-pray-rosary-for-peace-with-hundreds-of-children-in-vatican
published: 2026-09-24T20:49:35+00:00
language: en
section: World Church
source: https://deon.pl/kosciol/leon-xiv-odmowi-rozaniec-o-pokoj-z-setkami-dzieci-w-watykanie,3535084
organizations: Aid to the Church in Need, Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Fatima Shrine, World Prayer Network of the Pope, Fatima World Apostolate
publisher: FaithfulNews
---

# Pope Leo XIV to Pray Rosary for Peace with Hundreds of Children in Vatican

Pope Leo XIV will lead a Rosary prayer for peace with approximately 700 to 1,000 children from Rome in the Vatican Gardens on October 1. This event will inaugurate the annual initiative titled One Million Children Pray the Rosary, organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need. The gathering is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, marking the start of October, the month traditionally dedicated to the Rosary. The Pope will join students from Roman schools and parishes for this communal act of devotion, which serves as the opening ceremony for the global campaign.

The 2026 campaign will run for a full week from October 1 to October 7, a duration that marks a first for the initiative. This extended period allows dioceses, parishes, schools, communities, and families across different continents to select a day that best fits their pastoral realities. The week concludes on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. During this time, children, families, and communities worldwide will spiritually unite with the Pope in Rome. The common intention of the prayer is for peace and unity, aiming to connect participants across various geographical and cultural contexts.

Similar prayer initiatives are being prepared in many countries, ranging from indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon to parishes in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and other regions marked by war, poverty, or instability. The campaign draws inspiration from the Fatima message that the Immaculate Heart will triumph at the end. Cardinal Kurt Koch, the international president of Aid to the Church in Need and prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, notes that the Immaculate Heart signifies a life fully open to the Holy Spirit. He describes Mary as a model of faith, love, and prayer, emphasizing that the children's prayer serves as a simple and universal sign of trust and hope in a world facing conflict and uncertainty.

The One Million Children Pray the Rosary initiative originated in Venezuela in 2005 and has since evolved into a global prayer movement involving children, families, parishes, schools, and church groups on all continents. The campaign is inspired by words attributed to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who stated that when a million children pray the Rosary, the world will change. The invitation extends to parents, teachers, priests, religious, catechists, and families to pray alongside the children, requiring only the recitation of one decade of the Rosary. The international initiative operates in collaboration with the Fatima Shrine, the World Prayer Network of the Pope, and the Fatima World Apostolate. For the first time, World Rosary Day will also join the initiative this year.

## This story in other languages

- [Nederlands](https://www.faithfulnews.com/nl/leon-xiv-bidt-met-honderden-kinderen-voor-vrede-in-het-vaticaan)