Children from Troubled African Countries Pray the Rosary “for the first time” in Global Campaign

Nairobi, 14 October, 2025 / 11:34 PM

Children from across Africa, including those in countries experiencing persecution and political instabilities, joined their peers in the just concluded “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” campaign by Catholic Pontifical and charity foundation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International.

In Mozambique, a southern African country weighed down by insurgency against Christians, some children prayed the Rosary for the first time in their lives on October 7, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

One of the testimonies from a parish in Mozambique’s Catholic Diocese of Lichinga shared with ACN recounts how the community brought together 100 young people to pray for peace in their country and beyond..

“The children were very interested,” the testimony reads in part.

In an ACN report published October 9, the testimony further reads, , “We had met with them (the children) twice before, to prepare them. Many of the children didn’t know about the rosary or had never prayed it, so the initiative was the first of many opportunities to pray the rosary with them in the future.”

Nigeria’s Diocese of Jalingo also wrote to ACN, explaining, “On this feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, the children of our diocese have also joined in the prayer campaign of One Million Children Praying the Rosary. This was done in parishes, chaplaincies and pastoral areas across our diocese.”

“We also added Holy hour adoration to the Blessed sacrament as pilgrims of hope among the peoples. May God hear our prayers and grant us unity and peace in our troubled world,” read the message from Jalingo.

According to statistics gathered by ACN, almost 500,000 children, from 111 countries, were officially registered online by October 8 for the foundation’s 20th edition “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” campaign.

ACN estimates that many more participated in the campaign, saying, “Previous experience shows that many groups, families and individuals around the world take part in the campaign without registering online, so the full number is likely to far exceed that.”

ACN’s “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” is a global prayer initiative inspired by St. Padre Pio’s vision of children changing the world through prayer.



The Pontifical foundation says that the initiative began in 2005 in Caracas, Venezuela, when a group of children praying the Rosary sparked inspiration for a worldwide movement. Today, it connects millions of young believers across continents.

“Inspired by the words of St. Padre Pio, who believed that “when one million children pray the Rosary, the world will change,” the campaign has grown into a significant spiritual movement, drawing participation from schools, parishes, and families across continents,” ACN says.

In this year’s campaign, Poland was the country with the most participants, totaling over 86,000, followed by Brazil with almost 50,000.  

The USA is said to have doubled its official participation this year, reaching 22,000.

ACN says that despite more modest numbers, the participation of countries such as Liberia or Algeria, with 100 participants each, “show the global reach of this campaign.”