15,000 Irish children united in prayerful plea for peace around the world

From Belfast to Cork, Derry to Dublin – Irish schools unite for peace

 

Pupils in Steelstown Primary School, Derry take part in ACN’s One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign.

Thousands of Irish children have united in prayer to intercede for peace in the world. In almost every corner of the country, children in Catholic schools and parishes gathered on Tuesday October 7 – World Rosary Day – to pray the traditional Catholic prayer for peace and unity in the world.

 

They were part of the global ‘One Million Children Pray the Rosary’ campaign, organised by the charity Aid to the Church in Need.

 

Brandon Scott, the Irish coordinator of the initiative – which was backed by Pope Leo via a post on X on Tuesday – said he had been overwhelmed by the support for the campaign.

 

“We have had so many schools and parishes coming on-board to pray for peace, especially in Gaza. People feel so helpless, but prayer is the one thing that they can do,” Mr Scott said.

 

“Many of the participating schools asked us for rosary beads, and we were able to get them rosary beads blessed and made by Christian families in Bethlehem, so the campaign is really benefiting the local Christian community in the Holy Land whose livelihoods have been completely ended by the war,” he said.

 

According to Mr Scott (28), “children have responded so well to the campaign themselves. Even if they’re not watching the news, they know that children just like them are suffering in Gaza and this inspires them to pray”.

 

The One Million Children Pray the Rosary campaign aims to focus attention on parts of the world where young people experience difficulties due to war and conflict. It highlights the fact that even when the situation feels helpless, we can always pray for those in need – and people appreciate those prayers.

 

What started off in 2005 as a modest campaign has blossomed into something beautiful, with records being broken each year. The latest records show 1,218,372 children prayed the Rosary for peace last year.

 

Mr Scott said: “Visualise this, over a million children from around the world, coming together to pray the Rosary for peace at a time when it feels like the world is so devoid of it. How powerful that is!”

 

Brandon Scott