Daily Rosary for Pope Benedict in St Peter's Square

Visitors to Saint Peter’s Square are invited to come pray the Rosary each day at 4pm for Pope Benedict XVI in the days leading up to his resignation.

Since the start of the Year of Faith, people young and old have been gathering in front of Saint Peter’s Basilica to pray the Rosary as part of an initiative called A Moment with Mary. Participants pray the Rosary as they stand around the original World Youth Day Cross, which is carried into the Square for the occasion. The Rosary is broadcast live each day, Monday through Friday, on CTV and on the internet, allowing people from around the world to pray with those in Saint Peter’s Square.

Following the announcement that Pope Benedict would resign from the papacy at the end of February, the organizers felt it fitting to dedicate the Rosary for his intentions. Carly Andrews, who is the coordinator for the initiative, spoke with Vatican Radio about the importance of using this time to pray for the Holy Father.

Andrews told Vatican Radio how she saw Pope Benedict’s ‘yes’ to the will of God as a “grand culmination of his life of obedience to the Lord which stand as a worldwide example of faithfulness to God.”

In running A Moment with Mary, Andrews hopes to “try and follow the example of the Holy Father to a faithfulness to God, and faithfulness to his will, and faithfulness to prayer.”

The initiative is driven by the online Catholic network Aleteia, in collaboration with CTV, Telepace, Youcat, the Pontifical Council for the laity, and the Centro San Lorenzo International Centre for Youth.

Source: Vatican Radio