Over 10,000 Irish children pray for peace with ACN

Pupils from Steelstown Primary School, Derry, take part in ACN's One Million Children Praying the Rosary event. Photo credit: Steelstown Primary School.

Over 10,000 Irish children came together with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and Pope Leo in a prayerful plea for peace in the world during the week of October 1-7 as part of the One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign, promoted by pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need.

This year’s initiative was stretched out over seven days, and ended on October 7, the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. It was kicked off by a very special event, when hundreds of young children joined Pope Leo in the Vatican gardens to pray the rosary with him, on October 1.

In Ireland, from Kerry to Dublin, Donegal to Tipperary, Irish schools united to pray for peace with ACN in a world currently scarred by conflict and bitterness. Prayers were especially made for peace in the war-torn Gaza Strip and Ukraine.

Speaking after the event, coordinator for the Irish campaign Brandon Scott said he was delighted with the high numbers for the second year in a row.  

“I’m delighted that we’ve had another very successful campaign from an Irish perspective. This year’s numbers are on par with last year’s and it’s really testament to the popularity of the rosary and the worthiness of the campaign’s purpose.

“In a time of ongoing unease and trouble in the world, people can often feel so helpless, but prayer is the one thing that they can do. Schools and parishes always express an interest about coming onboard to pray for peace, especially in places like Gaza and Ukraine.

“We’re privileged that we can get rosary beads blessed and made by Christian families in Bethlehem, which we can distribute to schools. So, the campaign is really benefitting the local Christian community in the Holy Land whose livelihoods have been completely ended by the war.

“Children respond so well to the campaign themselves and love the tangible aspect of the rosary as they get to hold something directly in their hands while learning, which makes it all the more memorable. We’re very proud of this campaign in ACN.”

According to the interactive map on ACN’s website, where people could sign up themselves, over one million children participated in the global rosary event. ACN has now surpassed the one million figure for 4 years in a row.