Primary school pupils take up Pope Leo’s call to pray for peace

Throughout the month of May, thousands of primary school children in the UK have been praying the rosary for peace, particularly remembering children living in refugee camps.

Pope Leo XIV will lead a global rosary for peace from the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens tomorrow at 7pm, calling the faithful around the world to join him in praying for an end to conflict.

He will pray the Joyful Mysteries and dedicate each decade to those affected by war and violence, entrusting them to the intercession of Mary Queen of Peace.

The first mystery will pray for the victims of war, especially the most vulnerable, and the second will be for those who bring hope and the comfort of faith into war-torn contexts.

The third will pray for medical, paramedical and humanitarian workers, the fourth will remember prisoners and all who endure humiliations that violate human dignity, and the fifth mystery will be dedicated to praying for an end to war and lasting peace in the world.

Throughout the month of May, thousands of primary school children in the UK have been praying the rosary as part of a campaign led by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

ACN’s youth engagement officer Joseph Kelly said, “It has been great to see so many young people across the country praying the rosary for peace, especially given Pope Leo’s encouragement. It feels fitting that our young people are praying to make a difference across the world.”

ACN’s Maisy Milk Peace Project has now been running for eight years, and this year’s theme invites pupils to pray the rosary for the millions of children around the world who are forced to live in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps due to conflict, persecution, and climate disasters.

This year 118 schools signed up, a huge increase from 23 last year, and ACN sent out 30 rosaries to each of them, delivering 3,540 rosaries around the UK.

ACN said that so far, 180,000 rosary decades have been recited, which comes to about 38,000 rosaries prayed.

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: