Pope Francis is requesting that during this month of May, particularly dedicated to Our Lady, the entire Church invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the end of the pandemic and, in a special way, he is inviting all to pray fervently for those most closely affected by it. During each day of May, guided by a calendar with specific intentions, all the Shrines around the world, united in a communion of supplication
,through the prayer of the Rosary, will intercede for an end to the pandemic. Thirty Marian Shrines have been entrusted in leading the daily prayer intentions and will take turns leading this prayer throughout the Church while offering the faithful a series of prayer moments for them to participate throughout the entire day. Among the Marian shines chosen is that of Notre-Dame-du-Cap, in Trois-Rivières (Québec). The Holy Father will open and close the month of prayer, on the first and last day of the month. The initiative is inspired from the biblical passage, “from the whole Church unceasingly ascended prayer to God” (Acts 12:5).The Pontifical Council also informs that the daily prayers will be live broadcast through the official online channels of the Holy See. Further details are available on the Pontifical Council’s website (http://www.pcpne.va/content/pcpne/en.html).
Kindly find below links to Vatican News which has posted an article about the initiative: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-05/pope-to-pray-the-rosary-along-with-shrines-of-world-covid19.html
Here at Basilica of Our Lady, the Rosary will be prayed at noon each day if you would like to join from home. As the Marian Shrine of the Diocese of Hamilton, we will be praying for the whole Diocese as well as our parish.