In 1883, Pope Leo XIII officially dedicated the month of October to the “Holy Rosary.” For local Catholics, it has become a time of special devotion to the Blessed Mother’s favorite prayer, particularly through public rosary rallies.
Dozens of parish and faith groups will be organizing rosary events in Hawaii Oct. 12 as part of the Public Square Rosary Crusade started by America Needs Fatima. The nonprofit campaign, according to the America Needs Fatima website, seeks “to win the heart and soul of America for Mary” by spreading the message of conversion through her intercession.
More than 11,000 people across the country and the world have signed up with America Needs Fatima to lead rosary rallies at 12 noon on Oct. 12. The date marks the closest Saturday to the anniversary of the final Marian apparition to three Portuguese children in Fatima and the “miracle of the sun” famously witnessed by all those present in 1917.
The main America Needs Fatima rosary rally in Hawaii will be held at the State Capitol in Honolulu, near the statue of St. Damien. Participants will gather at the site starting at 11:30 a.m.
In addition to the America Needs Fatima rosary campaign, another local Catholic group will be conducting the 7th Annual Public Rosary at Thomas Square Park in Honolulu Oct. 13. The event, which is open to everyone, begins with a procession at 2:45 p.m. followed by chanting of the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m. The rosary will be prayed at 3:20 p.m.
One of the newest local groups to join the America Needs Fatima movement is comprised of young adults from the Leeward Oahu vicariate. They will hold their first public square rosary at White Plains Beach.
Joeleny Isidro of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church said she by chance came upon some of her fellow parishioners praying the rosary in Ewa Beach Community Park last year. After joining them and signing an attendance sheet, she received in the mail an invitation from America Needs Fatima to become a rally captain.
Isidro encourages youth and young adults to participate in the event because the rosary is “a powerful prayer in which hearts have been converted and intentions answered by meditating on the events of the life of Christ with the intercession of Mother Mary.”
“The rosary is the story of our salvation,” she said.
The young adult rally will start at 11 a.m. with a talk by Benedictine Sister Mary Jo McEnany. Leeward parish ministry leaders will lead the rosary prayer at noon.
For more information on the young adult rosary rally, email the Leeward Vicariate group at lvyacc@gmail.com. To find other America Needs Fatima events near you, contact your local parish, or call Val Elefante, organizer of the State Capitol rally, at 372-9043.
