Pope leads worldwide Eucharistic Adoration

June 03, 2013 - Catholics around the globe joined Pope Francis on Sunday in an unprecedented worldwide solemn adoration of the Eucharist, in which worshippers prayed for those suffering from war, slave labour, human trafficking and the economic crisis. The hour-long prayer and adoration of the Eucharist, the consecrated host that is the Body of Christ, was a special Year of Faith event organized on Corpus Christi Sunday, that corresponded with 5.00 pm Rome time across the globe. The faithful were asked to gather in cathedrals, neighbourhood parishes and monasteries to pray for two general intentions penned by Pope Francis, who led the adoration in Rome’s St. Peter's Basilica. One was for those "who still suffer slavery and who are victims of war, human trafficking, drug running and slave labour" as well as for the "unemployed, the elderly, migrants, the homeless, prisoners and those who experience marginalization". The other was for the 1.2 billion member Church itself and that it be "without stain or blemish". The Vatican said it was impossible to estimate immediately how many people took part.