Pope Leo XIV has called on Catholics and Christian communities throughout the world to dedicate the month of October to praying the Holy Rosary, with a particular intention for an end to wars and the establishment of peace among peoples affected by conflict.
The Pope made the appeal on September 27 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, at the conclusion of Mass during his apostolic journey. Speaking from a place strongly associated with the Rosary and Marian prayer, he invited the faithful to pray the Rosary throughout October “with the particular intention that wars may cease and that peace may be established among peoples in conflict.”
Pope Leo also emphasized that prayer for peace should not remain isolated from Christian action. He asked the faithful to accompany their prayers with acts of penance and mercy, together with a commitment to dialogue and reconciliation.
The appeal came as the Church entered October, a month traditionally associated with devotion to the Holy Rosary. The Pope returned to the same theme on September 30, when he again encouraged the faithful to dedicate the month to the Rosary, specifically praying for the end of wars and the attainment of peace.
The appeal was further followed by a major public prayer gathering in the Vatican Gardens on October 1, when Pope Leo XIV joined hundreds of children and their families in praying the Rosary for peace at the Lourdes Grotto.
Approximately 1,200 people, including about 700 children, gathered for the prayer, according to Vatican News. The event formed part of the international “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative promoted by Aid to the Church in Need. Children prayed the five decades in Italian, Spanish, Urdu, German and Arabic, symbolically bringing together different communities in a single prayer for peace.
Addressing the children, Pope Leo highlighted those living amid war and violence. He encouraged them to ask Jesus and Mary for peace, particularly for children who are growing up in countries affected by armed conflict.
The Pope described the Rosary as a simple prayer accessible to everyone and stressed that Christian prayer should be accompanied by concrete expressions of charity.
“Prayers must also be accompanied by good deeds and acts of love,” he told the children, according to Vatican News. “That is how peace grows.”
Pope Leo told those gathered at the Vatican that the children praying in Rome were joining millions of others around the world. He referred to the enormous number of Hail Marys being offered for peace, describing them as forming a single spiritual Rosary embracing peoples and nations across the continents.
The prayer specifically remembers people suffering from war and persecution, including children in Ukraine and other communities affected by violence, as well as families in Lebanon, Syria and the Holy Land. The initiative also includes prayers for persecuted Christians and for reconciliation in countries experiencing instability.
