Pope Francis has asked that this month of May be dedicated to praying insistently for an end to the pandemic.
That’s why he’s kicking off what the Vatican is calling a “prayer marathon.” Each day will feature a different Marian shrine.
The rosary will be the main prayer for the marathon. It will be streamed live from a different shrine every day at 6 p.m., Rome time.
The Pope will inaugurate the marathon at the Vatican, with a prayer in front of an ancient mosaic in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, May 1.
Each day after that, the rosary will be broadcast from a different place, like Guadalupe, Fatima, Lourdes, the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Medjugorje in Bosnia and la Caridad del Cobre in Cuba.
The Pope will conclude the marathon on May 31, in a chapel in the Vatican Gardens.
The Vatican wants to involve as many Catholics as possible and invites them to connect from their homes or parishes to pray for the end of the pandemic.
It’s no coincidence that the rosary is the chosen prayer, as May is traditionally the month the Catholic Church dedicates to the Virgin Mary.
In fact, on May 30, 2020, during the first wave of Covid-19 infections, Pope Francis invited doctors, nurses, hospital chaplains and family members of pandemic victims to pray the rosary together in the Vatican Gardens for the same cause.
Javier Romero
TR: CT
