By Ann Marie Foley - 13 June, 2019
The tenth anniversary of a global rosary relay will be celebrated with a thanksgiving Mass at Knock later this month. The Mass and praying of the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary at the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Ireland will be held on 28 June 2019 as part of the Global Rosary Relay for the Sanctification of Priests.
Final planning for the relay is “moving briskly” according to organisers, who state: “Building on the wonderfully high levels of participation in 2018, when the event touched the lives of 14 million people worldwide, on all five continents, the indications are that the tenth anniversary year of 2019 will see participation easily exceed the amazing statistics of last year.”
The number of participating prayer locations has risen substantially again this year, with new prayer locations in Finland, Canada (at a beautiful church close to Niagara Falls), Costa Rica, Bangladesh and many other new participating locations in the United States, including those in Minnesota, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Nebraska and Virginia, which are all growing in number.
This year a special invitation has been issued to join in solidarity with Sri Lanka at that country’s local prayer time of 10.00 a.m. from the Shrine of Our Lady of Matara, in praying the Sorrowful Mysteries. Pakistan is back again this year, having been the winners of the 2018 Worldpriest Global Rosary Relay special award for outstanding promotion and participation.
The Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay Novena starts on 20 June and finishes on 28 June, and includes daily reflection done to a camera, to be broadcast worldwide. This is a notable feature of the event and already there is global media interest in many countries, with planning for live broadcasts through social media and all communication channels.
Organisers state that modern communications are being used to encourage participation. The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) gives great coverage to this global gathering of a world at prayer, which allows millions of people to join in prayer from all corners of the world. Likewise, Irish company Church Services TV will stream the rosary relay live on the internet from several churches in Ireland and England.
The relay takes place on 28 June 2019 and can be followed on phones and computers. The live spiritual relay can be followed as each prayer location picks up the Rosary prayer from the previous location and spiritually sends forth to the next prayer location, so it is moving all day worldwide.
Anyone interested can check online when it is live in their location. For example, one prayer relay is on in Armagh at 08.30 at St Malachy’s Church, with the Glorious Mysteries. There is another prayer in Dublin at 11.15 at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, with the Joyful Mysteries. Then in Cashel prayers are at 11.45 at St John the Baptist Primary School, with the Sorrowful Mysteries.
There is also a connection with Fr Peyton, who promoted the rosary. At a centre named after him, the Father Patrick Peyton Centre, Attymass, Co. Mayo, the Sorrowful Mysteries will be prayed at 14.15. At the National Shrine of Our Lady of Knock the Luminous Mysteries will be prayed at 14.30. Then it’s back to Dublin at 14.30, to the Church of the Assumption, Booterstown Avenue, for the Sorrowful Mysteries.
Later, at 15.45, it is the turn of Our Lady of Dublin Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church, where the Joyful Mysteries will be prayed. At the evening Angelus time (18.00), the world is invited to join with Pope Francis to pray the Luminous Mysteries from the Vatican.
Then in Dublin at 18.15 the Poor Clare Sisters, Saint Damian’s, Dublin 4 take up the baton to pray the Joyful Mysteries. At Our Lady’s Island, Wexford at 20.00, the Luminous Mysteries will be prayed. Then at 20.15 the relay will come from St. Eunan’s Cathedral, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, with the Sorrowful Mysteries.
Organisers are also calling for prayers for the success of the event on 28 June and stated: “We need your participation, wherever you are. The world needs prayer every day, but especially on Annual Global Rosary Relay day on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. So please pray the Rosary, unite with your country and help encircle the world in prayer,” stated the organisers.
For Church Services TV see: https://www.churchservices.tv.
Further updates are available on: www.worldpriest.com.
To check location nearest you for relay see: https://www.worldpriest.com/participating-shrine-list/.
