Pope Leo XIV Calls for the Rosary for Peace and an End to Wars

Pope Leo XIV renewed his call for the faithful to recite the Rosary throughout October to end ongoing global conflicts, speaking to Italian pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square at the conclusion of his general audience on October 7.

Liturgical Appeal for Peace in St. Peter’s Square

The Pontiff’s remarks on October 7 aligned with the liturgical memory of the Santísima Virgen María del Rosario. From the Vatican, Leo XIV echoed statements made days prior, asking the global church to invoke the celestial mother as a secure refuge amid a world wounded by the scourge of war. This appeal followed the Pope’s Angelus address on October 4, as well as an earlier address delivered on September 27 during his apostolic journey to Lourdes, France.

During the October 4 Sunday Angelus from the Apostolic Palace, the Pope specifically focused his prayer request on Tierra Santa and innocent victims of violence. The Pontiff explicitly urged believers to follow the example of children who had already joined global prayer efforts, recalling his recent visit where he invited the faithful to pray the rosary during October with the intention that there be no war and that peace be built. The Pope also requested that this prayer be accompanied by concrete acts of penance and mercy, and the commitment to always favor dialogue and reconciliation.

During his time in France, Pope Leo XIV knelt before the Grotto of Massabielle and entrusted France to the Virgin, praying for her people and invoking Que hagan oír su voz para promover la defensa de los derechos humanos fundamentales, así como la paz en el mundo, rechazando para siempre la lógica de la guerra. The Pontiff noted that the campaign connects with the prayer he asked the entire Church to offer during his Angelus in Lourdes, calling for an end to wars and the arrival of peace for suffering peoples.

Children's Prayer Campaign Expands into International Movement

Originating in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2005, the campaign has grown into an international prayer movement involving families, schools, parishes, and communities. This year, for the first time, the initiative spanned a full week of prayer from October 1 to October 7, culminating on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, a festivity consecrated years ago by Pope Gregory XIII. In the Vatican Gardens on October 1, over seven hundred children gathered around a reproduction of the Lourdes Grotto to recite the initial Ave Marías, echoing the Pope’s plea for peace.