Contact: Marion Mulhall, 212-231-8265

NEW YORK, June 6, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- 85 Shrines located in 46 different nations will be participating during this fifth consecutive year of the Global Rosary Relay for Priests. The intention of the relay is a thanksgiving to God for our priests and to implore the protection and loving care of Our Lady, for all her priestly sons, by dedicating a 24 hour period of continuous prayer for the ministry of the priesthood.

As the final network preparation for the Fifth Annual Global Rosary Relay for Priests is underway, his holiness Pope Francis imparted his apostolic blessing for this global mega event to be held on 27 June, the feast of the Sacred Heart and World Priest Day.

In his message to the organizers, the Holy Father willingly imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace, to all priests and those joining this event, and commends them to the loving intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary. He has assured all those who are taking part in the event of his spiritual closeness. He also added that he will be praying to our Blessed Mother to always guide and protect priests who are consecrated to the joyful and indispensable mission of proclaiming the Gospel and offering God's people, through the celebration of the sacraments, the closeness, the word and the strength of Christ (cf. Evangelii Gaudium,121).

Marion Mulhall, founder & CEO of WorldPriest, says, "It's a great gift of much joy that his holiness Pope Francis has endorsed this special event, through his apostolic blessing. His predecessor Pope emeritus Benedict XVI had also written a special prayer for this very occasion during his papacy." She added, "It is wonderful to see the growth for this year. We began just five years ago with 24 shrines in 20 countries and now we have grown to 85 shrines in 46 countries."

The Annual Global Rosary Relay was created and orchestrated by Marion Mulhall in June 2010. Worldpriest is a non-profit Catholic apostolate based in New York, USA & Dublin, Ireland. The entire concept of this relay is that at pre-determined different time slots of the day, a rosary will be prayed at each of the 85 participating shrines. The event begins at mid-night of 27th June in Siberia.

List of shrines available on request from info@worldpriest.com or on line www.worldpriest.com.

Pray the Rosary, unite with your Country and help encircle the world in prayer