VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV prayed the rosary with hundreds of children and their families at the Lourdes grotto in the Vatican Gardens Oct. 1 after the pope 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.
“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 prayer with the pope as the sun set over 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.
A weeklong prayer campaign this year
For the first time, the 2026 campaign is taking place over an entire week, from Oct. 1-7, allowing dioceses, parishes, schools, communities and families around the world to choose a day suited to their pastoral circumstances while uniting in prayer for peace and unity. The campaign will conclude Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Pope Leo arrived at the Vatican Gardens singing the hymn “Jesus Christ, You Are My Life” with the children and the crowd gathered in the gardens for the prayer.
“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.”
At the beginning of the prayer vigil, the pope was accompanied by a child as he brought a bouquet of flowers to the altar at the Lourdes grotto.
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 Lourdes grotto in the Vatican Gardens dates back to Pope Leo XIII, who decided near the end of his life to install a reproduction of the Lourdes grotto in France. It was solemnly inaugurated in 1905 by his successor, Pope Pius X.
As the pope spoke enthusiastically to the children and their families, a young child ran across the gardens in front of him.
Pope Leo invited the children to shout, “I love you, Jesus,” and “I love you, Mary.”
Praying for peace around the globe
“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,” the pope said. “We do this through the prayer of the Holy Rosary, which is a simple prayer that everyone can recite.”
Before beginning the rosary, the pope explained that the children would reflect on five moments in the life of Jesus, corresponding to the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary: his baptism in the Jordan River, the wedding feast at Cana, the proclamation of the kingdom of God, the Transfiguration and the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.
“These are moments in which he gave us wonderful gifts that we must never forget, and for this we want to thank him,” he added.
The children prayed the “Hail Mary” prayer 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.
The “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative began in Venezuela in 2005 and has since grown into a worldwide prayer movement involving children, families, parishes, schools and Church groups 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.”
In 2026, the campaign is also inspired by the message of Our Lady of Fatima: “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Children pray for areas affected by conflict, poverty
Children in communities around the world are participating in the initiative, including in areas affected by war, poverty and political instability.
In Sudan, where an ongoing conflict has caused widespread suffering, Father Franck Mandozi of the Pastoral Region of Kosti confirmed that children from several parishes and schools would take part.
In the Bolivian Amazon, Sister Patricia Alejandra Botello López said children in a Tsimané Indigenous community were already praying the rosary in both Tsimané and Spanish.
In Zimbabwe, children at St. Christopher’s Parish in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo are scheduled to gather Oct. 4. In the following weeks, the parish’s priest, Father Charles Mafurutu, also planned to visit remote communities and Mass centers across the parish territory.
The prayer in the Vatican Gardens kicked off the month of October, which the Church dedicates to prayer of the Holy Rosary.
During his Angelus address in Lourdes a few days earlier, Pope Leo invited Catholics around the world to pray the rosary throughout October for an end to war and peace among nations.
“I invite all the faithful and all Christian communities to pray the holy rosary throughout the coming month of October, with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict,” he said.
“Let us accompany this prayer with concrete acts of penance and mercy, committing ourselves always to fostering dialogue and reconciliation,” he added.
Speaking to the children in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Leo emphasized that prayer must be accompanied by acts of charity.
“Prayers must always be accompanied by good deeds and acts of love. That’s how peace grows!” he said.
Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.
