Contact: Marion Mulhall, Worldpriest, 212-231-8265, info@worldpriest.com

NEW YORK, April 24, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Annual Global Rosary Relay will take place this year on 12 June, the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Starting with a shrine in Siberia, Marian shrines all the over the world will host thousands of people reciting relays of the rosary, moving from country to country and circling the world with the power of the rosary throughout this 24-hour period.

This amazing experience is open to everybody of faith, including all members of the laity. All participants have to do is find the nearest shrine to them and join in. Or, they can pray at home if there is no shrine near them. In contributing to this unique and joyous event those taking part will be supporting the challenging work of priests tending to the spiritual needs of Catholics worldwide. Remember, everybody's prayers add to the power of this relay.

For the past five years this initiative has been growing steadily around the world. This year it is estimated that as many as 100 Marian shrines in 50 countries worldwide will take part. For the first time this yearmembers of the Children's Rosary from around the world will participate in the Rosary Relay, making it a wonderful multi-generational event.

This truly global phenomenon was created through the vision and inspiration of the Worldpriest founder Marion Mulhall. It received the full blessing of His Holiness Pope Francis in 2014. So according to Marion Mulhall this worthy action of praying for the work of our priests has had the blessing of three popes since its foundation.

Commenting on the event last year, Father Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, the provincial superior for the Marians in the United States and Argentina said:

"It's a privilege to pray for priests. They are the people who are called by the Lord to serve Christ, to serve the Church, to proclaim the mission of salvation and to offer sacraments, especially the sacraments of Eucharist and Penance and to administer the sacraments to the sick. All these things are incredible gifts. Without the sacraments, we don't have Christ present in a sacramental way, we don't have the Eucharist, so this is more than important."

Extending his best wishes to Worldpriest last year for sponsoring this extraordinary initiative, Bishop Denis Brennan of Wexford, Ireland, stated that through the Annual Global Rosary Relay for Priests "we may walk together in the confidence of the Gospel message, sharing the Good News as we journey together."

Surely, this sums up the power and wonder of this momentous event which continues to grow and grow as Catholics, from every continent in the world, take their rosary beads to join in this prayer of thanksgiving for our priests. The relay looks forward to having everybody add his or her prayers on 12 June.