Pope Leo XIV Launches One Million Children Rosary Initiative for Peace

Pope Leo XIV opened the Oct. 1–7 “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative by praying with children in the Vatican Gardens, urging them to seek peace especially for children living through war. Organized by Aid to the Church in Need, the worldwide effort invites children, families, schools and parishes to pray together, with the rosary’s five decades recited in different languages at the Vatican gathering. The prayers highlight people affected by conflict and persecution, including children in Ukraine and families in the Middle East, while Ukrainian Greek Catholic leader Sviatoslav Shevchuk urged his church’s children and priests to take part and pray for a just peace in Ukraine. The pope and organizers emphasized that children’s prayers can unite people across borders and bring the world’s suffering before God.