Pope Leo XIV is renewing his call for Catholics around the world to take up the Rosary during October, entrusting the suffering of a world marked by war to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Speaking during his General Audience on Wednesday, October 7, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Leo pointed the faithful toward Mary as a source of hope and spiritual strength in times of hardship.
According to Vatican News, the Pope described Mary as a “safe refuge amid life’s difficulties” and encouraged Catholics once again to turn to her through the prayer of the Rosary.
His appeal continues a message he has emphasized as the Church observes October, traditionally associated with devotion to the Holy Rosary.
While addressing Chinese-speaking pilgrims at the General Audience, Pope Leo described the Blessed Mother as a “refuge and strength in moments of difficulty and suffering,” according to Vatican News.
The Pope also greeted Portuguese-speaking pilgrims and looked ahead to the October 12 celebration of Our Lady of Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil.
“To her maternal intercession I entrust you and your families. May Our Lady always watch over you,” Pope Leo said.
The Holy Father’s latest appeal follows his recent call for Catholics to dedicate their Rosaries during October particularly to the cause of peace.
During his September 27 visit to Lourdes, France, Pope Leo invited the faithful to pray the Rosary throughout the month “with the particular intention that wars may end and peace be established among peoples in conflict,” Vatican News reported.
But the Pope emphasized that prayer for peace should also lead Christians to act.
He encouraged Catholics to accompany their prayers with “concrete acts of penance and mercy” while committing themselves to “always promote dialogue and reconciliation.”
That appeal has already found a powerful expression at the Vatican.
On October 1, Pope Leo joined approximately 1,300 people at the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens for the Rosary, including more than 700 children. Together, they offered the Marian prayer for peace, according to Vatican News.
During the gathering, the prayer was offered in five languages, bringing together voices from different parts of the world around a single intention.
“Grant us peace!” the Pope and children prayed together.
The gathering was connected with the “A Million Children Pray the Rosary” initiative, coordinated by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need. The initiative draws inspiration from words attributed to St. Padre Pio: “If a million children pray the Rosary together, the world will change.”
As violence and conflict continue to wound communities around the world, Pope Leo’s message places a distinctly Catholic response before the faithful: prayer joined to conversion, mercy and the pursuit of reconciliation.
On the feast dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, the Holy Father’s appeal also recalls the Church’s centuries-old confidence in the intercession of the Mother of God.
For Catholics praying the Rosary this October, the intention is clear: to entrust a troubled world to Mary and ask God for the gift so urgently sought by millions… Peace.
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