Pope Leo XIV Prays With Children for Peace in Ukraine, Cuba, Venezuela and the Middle East
Pope Leo XIV joined hundreds of children and families in the Vatican Gardens for the 'One Million Children Pray the Rosary' initiative, calling for peace in Ukraine, Lebanon, Cuba, Venezuela, the Middle East, Pakistan and South Sudan.
Pope Leo XIV prayed with hundreds of children and families in the Vatican Gardens for peace and hope in countries and regions facing hardship, including Ukraine, Lebanon, Cuba, Venezuela and the Middle East. The pontiff took part in the «One Million Children Pray the Rosary» event, organized by Aid to the Church in Need, a foundation that supports Christian communities worldwide that are persecuted or discriminated against.
The gathering took place at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican and drew around 1,300 participants, according to the event's organizers. Addressing the children and adults present, the pope encouraged them to pray for peace alongside those following from their homes. «Tonight we are not alone. In the world, a million children are praying with us. One million! Fifty million Hail Marys rising to heaven from every corner and in every language of the earth, asking for peace and joining together to embrace and draw close all the continents, races and nations of the planet,» he said.
Leo XIV then presided over the event seated in an armchair as children recited the Rosary in their respective languages, while a series of videos presented the prayer intentions. The children prayed for Ukraine, for Christian communities in Lebanon and Syria, for Pakistan and South Sudan, and for hope in Cuba and Venezuela, where, as recalled in a projected video, many families lack essential goods and suffer greatly from natural disasters.
The initiative reflects a longstanding tradition of papal prayer for regions afflicted by conflict, persecution and material hardship. Aid to the Church in Need, which organized the gathering, works globally to assist Christian communities facing discrimination or violence. The choice of intentions underscored the breadth of the pope's concerns, spanning war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, the situation of Christians in Lebanon and Syria, and the daily struggles of families in Cuba and Venezuela.
As night fell, the pope greeted and embraced some of the children and families present, bringing the event to a close. The gathering was part of a worldwide prayer movement that organizers said united a million children across the globe in a single act of intercession for peace.
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