During the month of May, the Church around the world is joining in a daily Rosary for the intention of the end of the pandemic, as well as a specific intention related to the various victims of the virus.
Each day of the month, a different shrine will lead the daily Rosary, according to local practice.
The beginning and the end of the Rosary Marathon (May 1 and May 31) are led by Pope Francis.
See below to follow the list of the Shrines.
Day 6 intention: For all young people
The shrine of Aparecida has become more well known globally in the last several years due to a document that was signed there. It sprung from the 2007 meeting of Latin American bishops. One of the key players in the creation of the document was the future Pope Francis, and he has made many references to the document during his papacy.
Our Lady of Aparecida is a tiny clay image, some 15 inches tall.
She stands over a crescent moon with her hands lifted in prayer, and gazes upward, smiling. She is an image of the Immaculate Conception.
The image was found in 1717, by some fishermen who discovered her in their nets. And like the Gospel story, after a night of no fish, they hauled in a great catch.
Soon, miracles began to be attributed to her. Pilgrims began to visit the little image. Many miracles were attributed to “Our Lady of the Conception Who Appeared.”
The first chapel housing the image was built in 1745. Today the statue is housed in the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, which is the largest Marian shrine in the world, accommodating up to 45,000 worshippers.
She is the patroness of Brazil.
And today we celebrate...