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Pope Leo XIV to Lead Children in Rosary for Peace
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV will lead more than 700 children in praying the rosary for peace at the Vatican, part of a global initiative.
Pope Leo XIV will lead more than 700 children in praying the rosary for peace at the Vatican on October 8, as part of the 'One Million Children Praying the Rosary' initiative.
The event marks the beginning of a global week dedicated to the prayer initiative, which began in Venezuela in 2005.
Organizers provide prayer materials in several languages and encourage participants to register, allowing the network of children joining the prayer in different countries to be displayed on a map.
This year, World Rosary Day is joining the campaign for the first time, with prayer gatherings planned in locations around the world, including the Bolivian Amazon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone.
Children from schools and parishes throughout Rome will join the pontiff in the campaign, with the initiative organized in collaboration with the Shrine of Fátima, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, and the World Apostolate of Fátima.
In war-torn Sudan, Father Franck Mandozi of the Kosti Pastoral Region confirmed that children from several parishes and schools will take part.
The initiative aims to involve children, families, parishes, schools, and Church groups on every continent, inspired by the words of St. Pope John Paul II.
Pope Leo XIV's involvement in the initiative underscores his commitment to fostering peace and unity among the world's children.
The event is part of a broader effort by the Vatican to address global issues, including the impact of artificial intelligence on children and families.
Pope Leo XIV has also called for international solidarity with Somalia, citing ongoing violence and extreme weather that are compounding an already severe humanitarian crisis.
What's confirmed
- The Diocese of Nashville’s Catholic Schools Office is raising awareness among Tennessee Catholic families about how to protect their children from risks posed by AI.
- “After the heartbreaking loss of her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, following an intense relationship with an AI companion chatbot, Garcia transformed her grief into a mission to protect other children and families,” the diocese said in a Sept. 2 press release.
- DePaul University has announced it will serve as the Chicago-based partner for the Vatican’s Laudato si’ Center for Higher Education.
- “A Catholic Family’s Guide to AI Safety,” DePaul University partners with the Vatican on sustainability, and more in this week’s education roundup.
- She met with Pope Leo XIV in November 2025 during an audience with participants in a conference on child dignity and AI ethics.
- VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV called for international solidarity with Somalia on Sunday, citing ongoing violence and extreme weather that are compounding an already severe humanitarian crisis.
What's still developing
- From the Tsimané Indigenous community in the Bolivian Amazon, Sister Patricia Alejandra Botello López said they will pray in both their local language and Spanish.
- As has now been widely reported, Pope Leo XIV attended a dinner with wealthy donors, primarily from the United States and Italy, on July 29, which included a private concert by Andrea Bocelli.
- The dinner was co-organized by the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, and followed a public event called the “ Canticle for Peace ” that combined moments of prayer with a performance by Bocelli and an international children’s choir.
- Alex Capecelatro is an American A.I. founder who attended the event with his husband and wrote about meeting the pope for Outreach, an L.G.B.T.
- One of the show’s hosts, veteran Vatican journalist Inés San Martín, said in a recent episode, “It’s naïve, very naïve, to think that Francis—perhaps they weren’t dinners—but that Francis didn’t do this,” adding that she knew someone who had “gone to the Vatican to give the Holy Father a check for $250,000 and ended up in a private audience alone with Francis” in the Vatican’s Sala Clementina.
- Mr. Capacelatro said that invitees to the “Canticle for Peace” concert knew that they would have a chance to shake hands with the pope afterward, and photos of these greetings were published by Vatican Media, as is standard for public papal events.
- Organizers have kept details of the dinner and private concert that followed tightly under wraps; neither the Vatican communications department nor the Andrea Bocelli Foundation returned requests for comment for this story.
- Father Dorantes, who has a background in media, was also reportedly the organizer of NBC’s and Telemundo’s exclusive interviews with Pope Leo, given at Borgo Laudato Si’ the same day as the concert for peace.
- Both events have been interpreted by Vatican-watchers as evidence of the “ Americanization ” of the Vatican under the first U.S.-born pope—which some see as a negative development, allowing donors to seemingly pay for access to the pope.
- Others believe more American-style fundraising could help solve the Holy See’s financial problems, as some cardinals expressed hope for around the time of Pope Leo XIV’s election.
- “We’re only providing these nutrition supplies to the children that are really the worst hit,” he said.
- Pope Leo XIV prays the Angelus on Sunday, 20 Sept.