Over 9,000 children join Archbishop John in praying for Pope Leo XIV
Pupils from primary and secondary schools join Archbishop John Wilson in praying a ‘virtual rosary’ offered for Pope Leo XIV
Over 80 Catholic schools across South London and Kent prayed the rosary with Archbishop John Wilson for the health and recovery of Pope Leo XIV.
The Archbishop led the rosary at St George’s Cathedral Primary School, where he was joined in person by pupils from Sacred Heart Catholic School, Camberwell and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Rotherhithe. A further 9,000 pupils from over 80 schools joined in virtually via a livestream.
Before they prayed together, Archbishop John Wilson told the children that they were offering the rosary for Pope Leo, who has been in hospital, he said:
“We’re praying that he will be healed and that he will be well as the successor of Saint Peter, as the father of the Catholic Church.”
At the end of the rosary, Archbishop John asked the children to join him again in praying an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for “our Holy Father, Pope Leo, for his healing and his recovery after his surgery and his return to full health”.
Archbishop John also took questions from the pupils, including how he prays. The Archbishop said:
“I pray in the best way that I can. We all have to pray in the best way we can. The most important thing with prayer is to have faith. I believe God is listening to me and that his Son Jesus is with me. I believe he loves me and I believe he loves you. So, when I open my heart to God in prayer and to his Son, Jesus, I am speaking to someone who is a friend, someone who loves me.”
Mr C Andrew, Executive Headteacher of St George’s Cathedral Primary School, said:
“Praying the rosary with Archbishop John reminded our pupils that they belong to something much bigger than their school: the family of our Archdiocese and the Church across the world, praying together for Pope Leo.”
Mr R Lansiquot, Headteacher of Sacred Heart Catholic School, Camberwell, said:
“Embedding prayer into the daily life of our school community helps our pupils grow and develop. Praying the rosary with Archbishop John and so many other schools showed them how much it means to pray together.”
Mrs C McLoughlin, Headteacher of St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Rotherhithe, said:
“Taking part in the rosary with Archbishop John gave our children a moment of peace and stillness, and helped them to grow closer to each other and to God.”
Another pupil from a primary school asked the Archbishop, “What inspired you to work towards God’s plan?” Archbishop John said:
“When I was your age, like some of you, my faith began to matter to me and I became interested in the person of Jesus and his love. I became convinced that he is real, that I could know him and that I could have a friendship with him. That led me to ask the question, ‘What does he want from my life?’ It wasn’t entirely clear at first, but I knew lots of priests who really inspired me, and slowly I got a sense that I could be a priest. Understanding God’s will for us is something that comes out of friendship with Jesus, so if we want to know what God is asking of us, let’s go to his Son. Let’s befriend his Son, let’s have a relationship with him in prayer and ask him to show us each of us his plan for our life.”
One pupil asked, “Why do we have to pray the Hail Mary ten times?” Archbishop John explained:
“You don’t say it ten times, but 53 times! Because good prayer cannot be said enough. These are beautiful words, asking Our Lady to pray for us and the more we say them, the more they sink into us. They become like the rhythm of our breathing, so repeating the prayers helps us to really take them into our heart.”
The rosary was organised by the Education Service in the Archdiocese of Southwark as part of the Archdiocese’s ongoing efforts to help young people build a deeper relationship with Christ through prayer.
