Daily Rosary for Pope Benedict in St Peter’s Square
(Vatican Radio) 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.