PALM BEACH GARDENS | Students at Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Palm Beach joined a worldwide drive to pray the rosary Oct. 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and at other times during October, the month of the rosary.
The One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign is spearheaded by Aid to the Church in Need, an agency under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV that provides pastoral and humanitarian assistance to the persecuted church around the world. For more than 74 years, ACN donors have reached out to the suffering, the distressed and the poorest of the poor in more than 145 countries.
“This global initiative inspires young hearts to pray with our Blessed Mother and to discover the profound beauty and strength found in prayer,” the campaign material said.
Several school principals messaged the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools to say how their students participated.
Jill Broz, principal of All Saints in Jupiter, said her school prayed “a decade of the rosary over the announcements, so over 475 students and faculty/staff prayed together. Classes are saying the full rosary throughout the day.”
ACN contacted St. Vincent Ferrer in Delray Beach to find out how the school participated. Denise O’Loughlin, St. Vincent’s principal, said Sister Elizabeth Halaj was interviewed by ACN reporter John Burger.
“Students wrote their intentions on pieces of paper to create a prayer chain that will connect with the rosary that is on our main staircase of the school,” O’Loughlin said.
Burger’s article on the ACN website said, “It was the fourth year that the school participated in the One Million Children initiative. In years past, children stood inside St. Vincent Ferrer Church in the shape of a larger-than-life rosary. As each child took a turn at the prayers, he or she placed a candle on the floor.
“This year, the entire student body prayed together at the beginning of the day as Sister Elizabeth led the initial prayers — Creed, Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary — over the public address system. Then, designated students went from one classroom to another to lead each successive decade.
“Sister Elizabeth, a member of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, said that students were excited to be part of the expected million children praying and have been asking whether the worldwide count has reached its goal yet.”
The article added that, according to statistics gathered by ACN, almost 500,000 children from 111 countries registered online by Oct. 8. However, many groups, families and individuals take part in the campaign without registering.
All students at St. Ann School in West Palm Beach gathered Oct. 7 to pray the rosary. “It was such a beautiful and peaceful moment seeing all of our students and staff praying as one community,” said Tina Slade, marketing and communication director. “The students were so reverent and engaged. It was a wonderful reminder of the faith that connects us all.”
Deborah Irish, principal of St. Helen School in Vero Beach, said, “We did an all-school Mass for the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary. Then we did a living rosary with pre-K through eighth grade leading the rosary. We also have a rosary challenge for October. Each time a class says a rosary, they put a bead on our giant rosary.”
At St. Anastasia School in Fort Pierce, students prayed a “living rosary” for world peace and personal holiness Oct. 9. Grades three to five represented the Hail Mary beads and altar servers in grades six through eight led the procession and represented the Our Father beads.
For more information about Catholic schools in the diocese, visit www.diocesepbschools.org or follow on Facebook and Instagram. Find the Aid to the Church in Need article mentioned above at www.churchinneed.org/american-kids-double-the-number-taking-part-in-1-million-children-praying-the-rosary/.
