Thousands of registrations from around the world for the first World Rosary Day 2024

At 7pm on October 7, in New Zealand, at the Marian parish of Saint Mary's, Pukekaraka, in the Maori territory of Ōtaki, Father Phil Cody will recite the Rosary in the Maori language together with his parishioners, and thus launch World Rosary Day, a day of prayer focused on the Holy Rosary to be marked all round the world.

The event is a response to the request of Pope Francis in his letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella for the Jubilee 2025, to “dedicate the year preceding the Jubilee event, 2024, to a great ‘symphony’ of prayer’”, with petitions directed “to the Virgin Mary to accompany the Church on the path of preparation for the event of grace of the Jubilee.”

Many confraternities, sanctuaries, religious orders and other lay associations with a strong Marian spirituality have already signed up for the global event promoted by the Pan-European Forum of Confraternities, a European movement launched in 2020 in Lugano, Switzerland, now preparing its fifth annual assembly.

All the founding members of the Pan-European Forum immediately signed up for the initiative: the Italian Confederation, Maintenance from France, Agrupación from Málaga, Spain, UCDL from Switzerland and members from Malta.

A group of 52 Confraternities from the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, led by Cardinal Orani Tempesta (who has appointed an Episcopal Vicar with responsibility for the confraternities - Monsignor André Sampaio) also signed up soon after. The Promoter General of the Holy Rosary, Fr. Lawrence Lew OP, signed up for the World Rosary Day on behalf of all the “Confraternities of the Holy Rosary” linked to the Dominican Order. Many have also signed up individually, especially in North and South America, and 24 from Slovakia alone.

Father Lucio Zappatore O.Carm has also invited the “Confraternities of the Scapular” in Carmelite parishes, to sign up. About 20 have already done so. On July 9, the entire Confederation of the Misericordie of Italy signed up, with a message of support from their President, Domenico Giani and the Bishop President, Franco Agostinelli, on behalf of all 700 Confraternities with their 670,000 members.

Many Shrines, including the two International Shrines of Our Lady of Knock (Ireland) and Haemy Martyrs (Korea), various national shrines, such as Our Lady of the Cape in Canada and Our Lady of Mount Carmel (New York USA), are also participating, as well as the Legion of Mary Senatus of Uganda and the Regia of Hong Kong, and many other prayer groups spread throughout the world, from Beijing to Indonesia.

In Italy, at 7pm Archbishop Rolandas Makrickas will lead the recitation of the Rosary in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, in the chapel of the Salus Populi Romani, a place of special spiritual significance ahead of the Jubilee. Students from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the Angelicum) will walk in procession to the Basilica, leaving the Angelicum at 6pm.

Registration for World Rosary Day is still open, via the dedicated website: www.worldrosaryday.com allowing people to actively participate as an association or community, to receive updates and useful news.