Thousands of primary school children across the UK have been praying the rosary for peace during May as Pope Leo XIV invites Catholics around the world to join him in prayer at the end of the Marian month.

The Holy Father is due to preside over the recitation of the Holy Rosary at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Saturday, May 30, at 7pm Rome time, as the Church prays for an end to conflict. Reporting on the initiative said the faithful worldwide had been invited to join the Pope in the devotion.

The papal appeal coincides with the conclusion of the Maisy Milk Peace Project, a rosary campaign run by Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity that supports persecuted and other suffering Christians.

Throughout May, children at Catholic primary schools across the UK have been learning about the plight of Christians in need and praying the five decades of the rosary.

The campaign, now in its eighth year, invited schools to pray for peace and to reflect on children around the world living in Internally Displaced Persons camps because of conflict and other crises.

ACN sent 30 rosaries to each participating school, together with a fundraising pack. Teachers then decided how best to use the materials, with some classes praying with the rosaries on different weeks and some children receiving them as gifts for their First Holy Communion.

This year, 118 schools signed up to the campaign, and ACN delivered 3,540 rosaries around the UK. The charity said that about 180,000 rosary decades had been prayed so far, equivalent to around 38,000 rosaries, alongside money raised for ACN projects.

The figures represent a marked increase on last year, when 23 schools took part and 19,816 decades of the rosary were prayed.

ACN’s Maisy Milk Peace Project co-ordinators said it was significant that, as children across the UK had been invoking Our Lady’s prayers for an end to suffering, the campaign was concluding at the same time as the Pope’s invitation to the world to pray the rosary for peace.

Joseph Kelly, ACN’s youth engagement officer, said: “It has been great to see so many young people across the country praying the Rosary for Peace, especially given Pope Leo’s encouragement.

“It feels fitting that our young people are praying to make a difference across the world.”

ACN’s online resources for the Maisy Milk Rosary for Peace describe the campaign as an initiative to help children learn the rosary and pray for peace, with schools encouraged to sign up for rosaries, assemblies, prayer videos and related resources.

Aid to the Church in Need is a pontifical foundation under the Holy See. The charity supports Christians facing persecution, oppression or need through prayer, information and practical assistance.