The 16th annual Global Rosary Relay, an initiative that organizers say has grown into “a worldwide network” of participants who pray a seamless succession of Rosaries for priests, is set to take place this year on June 12, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.
Pope Leo XIV conferred his apostolic blessing on the Annual Global Rosary Relay in September 2025, according to a June 3 press release published by The Way, a platform created by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
The Pontiff sent a message with the blessing expressing support for the initiative and encouraging participants across the world in their spiritual efforts.
“May their prayers be a source of strength for priests as they carry out their mission as shepherds and guides of their flock,” he said, according to the release.
The relay was organized by the media platform WorldPriest, which lay people established to promote the Catholic faith. The organizers expressed gratitude in a statement for Pope Leo’s blessing and said receiving it was a deep honor.
“This blessing and endorsement not only affirms the mission of WorldPriest but also brings renewed momentum and inspiration to all who take part in the Annual Global Rosary Relay,” the statement read.
What began with just 24 locations has expanded to a unified movement involving shrines, cathedrals, parishes, seminaries, and prayer groups committed to praying the Rosary at designated times, “creating a seamless relay that encircles the globe,” the release states.
WorldPriest’s website has a map of participating locations across the globe, illustrating the reach to committed Catholics across all seven continents.
According to WorldPriest, one of the seminaries participating in the relay for the first time is St. Augustine’s Major Seminary in Jos, the capital city of the Plateau State in Central Nigeria. About 400 seminarians at St. Augustine’s will pray the Rosary together at 7 p.m. local time. WorldPriest noted that the seminary “operates under challenging conditions, being situated in a Muslim-dominated region where religious conflict is frequent, often with deadly results.”
WorldPriest also noted that the 2026 solemnity marks a historic day in the U.S., as the nation’s Catholic bishops will be consecrating the country, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This year, there are participants in the prayer rally in all 50 states, including, for the first time, at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.