Daily Rosary in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Benedict’s intentions
(Feb. 27, 2013) 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. Different decades are led in different languages, with the common responses
said in Latin.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 XVI 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