Cardinal Raymond Burke is set to offer a traditional Mass and lead an annual, international Rosary rally in Amsterdam this weekend, in conjunction with Radio Maria.
On September 5, Cardinal Burke will preside over a Rosary rally of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which has become an annual feature in the Netherlands’ Catholic calendar. The full itinerary consists of a pontifical Mass in the traditional rite at the church of Our Lady Keizersgracht, before a Rosary procession to the Vondelpark in the very centre of the city of Amsterdam.
With devotions concluded, Burke will then deliver a talk on the devotion of the first Saturdays.
The American cardinal will also offer a Mass the following day in Haarlem cathedral, after which another conference will be held.
Last year saw Cardinal Willem Eijk lead the day of devotions, and during the 2024 edition the country was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Organised by Catholic broadcasting network Radio Maria, the event is billed as an international participation in the first Saturday devotion, requested by Our Lady during the apparitions of Fatima.
“In the heart of Amsterdam in the spirit of reparation, we pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace and conversion of our society,” said Radio Maria of the day. Drawing an international crowd, the Rosary rally is “a powerful sign of unity, faith and hope,” organisers said.
Burke is a key proponent of the Fatima devotions and first Saturday practice, describing it as “a wonderful expression of [Mary’s] unfailing maternal love.”
The devotion of the Five First Saturdays was born at the direct request of Our Lady of Fatima, who told the three young visionaries to keep a devotion of making Confession, receiving Holy Communion, reciting the rosary and meditating for 15 minutes on the Rosary for five consecutive months.
Sister Lucia pointed to the importance of the devotion, noting that they had been asked to promote the practice “to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to implore pardon and mercy in favour of souls who blaspheme against Her, because the Divine Mercy does not pardon these souls without reparation.”
The Vondelpark is a noteworthy site for Amsterdam’s Rosary rally, since it was in the park that Amsterdam hosted the 2026 edition of “Worldpride”, the two-week long LGBT event which travels across the globe for each annual iteration.
Amsterdam is well known for its own very pro-LGBT scene, indeed it was in the city that the world’s first same-sex ‘marriage’ took place in 2001. The Netherlands’ incumbent Prime Minister Rob Jetten is also a key proponent of LGBT ideology, and is himself in a same-sex relationship.
Highlighting this aspect, Fr Pieter Zimmermann – the priest-director of Radio Maria Netherlands – said that there was no “better place to bring reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary than this park.”
Burke will be joined by Cardinal Eijk, along with notable members of the Dutch episcopate: Bishop Van den Hende, president of the Dutch Catholic bishops’ conference; Bishop Johannes Hendriks, who is the local ordinary; and Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch.
Michael Haynes is an English journalist in the Holy See Press Corps. He serves as Vatican Correspondent for the Catholic Herald, while readers can follow him at Per Mariam and on X @MLJHaynes.
