Pope Leo XIV leads global children's rosary prayer for peace

Pope Leo XIV joined hundreds of children and their families at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens on October 1 to pray the Rosary for global peace. The event launched the ‘One Million Children Praying the Rosary’ initiative, organized by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

The campaign, which for the first time in 2026 is scheduled as a weeklong event from October 1 to October 7, aims to unite children, schools, and parishes worldwide in prayer. During the ceremony, the Pope emphasized the importance of praying for peace, particularly for children living in conflict zones such as Ukraine, Russia, Lebanon, Iraq, the Middle East, South Sudan, and Pakistan.

Specific intentions were also offered for families in Cuba and Venezuela, where the Pope noted that many suffer from a lack of essential goods and the impact of natural disasters. The initiative seeks to create a spiritual chain of approximately 50 million Hail Marys spoken in various languages across the globe to promote unity and hope.