Vatican announces global rosary for peace with Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV will lead a global rosary for peace on May 30, praying live from the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens at 7 p.m. Rome time. The event will be streamed simultaneously, with Monsignor Walter R. Rossi of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., joining the Pope at 1 p.m. ET. The initiative, coordinated by the Dicastery for Evangelization, includes major Marian shrines worldwide such as those in Ukraine, the Philippines, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Lebanon, and Italy. The Vatican Gardens' Lourdes Grotto will serve as the central location for the worldwide rosary, emphasizing the Pope’s call for global prayer for peace.
4 months ago
Pope Leo XIV has invited Catholics worldwide to join a special Rosary for peace on 30 May 2026, ending the Church’s Marian month with a unified prayer for an end to war and the promotion of lasting peace. 1 4 5 6
The Holy Father will lead the Rosary from the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens at 7 p.m. Rome time. The celebration is coordinated by the Dicastery for Evangelization and will be streamed live worldwide. 1 4
Shrines: Major Marian sites across continents will pray simultaneously, including the Shrine of the Mother of God (Zarvanytsia, Ukraine), International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Antipolo, Philippines), Our Lady of the Rosary (Fátima, Portugal), Our Lady Queen of Peace (Medjugorje, Bosnia‑Herzegovina), Our Lady of Lourdes (France), St Charbel Annaya (Byblos, Lebanon), and the Pontifical Shrine of the Holy House (Loreto, Italy). 1 5
United States: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., will join via livestream at 1 p.m. ET, with a live feed also projected on large screens in St Peter’s Square. 1 5
Public Access: Limited free tickets are available for those who wish to attend in person; the Rosary will also be broadcast on Vatican News and the Washington basilica’s website. 4 5
Pope Leo XIV will pray the Joyful Mysteries, assigning each of the five decades to a specific group affected by conflict:
The Rosary follows Pope Leo XIV’s repeated calls for peace, voiced in homilies (e.g., Pentecost) and diplomatic outreach to the Middle East, Africa, and Ukraine since the start of his pontificate. 1
The event has been reported by EWTN News, Vatican News, OSV News, and Aleteia, each highlighting the global scope, the participation of major shrines, and the specific intentions attached to each decade of the Rosary. 1 4 5 6
The Rosary as a universal instrument for peace in Catholic tradition
The Catholic tradition presents the Rosary not merely as a private devotion, but as a universal “school” of peace: it is a contemplative prayer that forms the interior life, strengthens charity, and therefore makes believers peacemakers in history. Popes have repeatedly taught that the Rosary is “by its nature a prayer for peace,” precisely because it leads people to contemplate Christ, the Prince of Peace, and to assimilate His peace into daily attitudes and actions.
In Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II gives the decisive reason: the Rosary is a prayer for peace because it consists in contemplating Christ, “the Prince of Peace,” who “is our peace” (Eph 2:14).
This is not presented as a vague spirituality. John Paul II specifies that the Rosary’s goal is not only to think about peace, but to learn the “secret of peace” by assimilating the mystery of Christ—so that peace becomes a “life’s project.” citeturn0file7