Catholics plan mass-rosary prayer around the British coast

Feb 08, 2018

LONDON: After similar events in Poland and Ireland, Catholics plan to pray the rosary around the coast on Great Britain in April this year.

The event, which is scheduled for Sunday, April 29, will mark 50 years since the Abortion Act coming into effect.

Organisers say the mass-rosary prayer will help combat the “present threats to faith, the dignity of the human person and to peace”, and encourage a “re-flourishing of our Faith”.

They intend to launch a website with an interactive map of prayer locations on March 1, the feast of St David, patron of Wales. Then, on the feast of St Joseph on March 19, they will begin forty days of spiritual preparation under the protection of the saint, ending on April 27, the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act coming into effect.

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley said he was “more than happy” to support the initiative. “Hopefully all these rosary sites will join up together and form a ring of grace around our coast for faith, life and peace.”

“May God bless this important venture and begin the conversion and reconciliation of our isles.”

Organisers hope Catholics will gather not just on the coast of the British mainland but also on surrounding islands including Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands.

The mass-rosary prayer in Poland saw hundreds of thousands of Catholics pray the rosary around the country’s borders. Poles gathered at around 4,000 locations to commemorate the centenary of the apparitions at Fatima, and implore protection for their homeland and for the world.

“We believe that if the rosary is prayed by about a million Poles along the borders of the country, it may not only change the course of events, but open hearts of our compatriots to the grace of God,” the organisers said.--Catholic Herald