Contact: Marion Mulhall, Founder, Worldpriest, 212-231-8265

NEW YORK, May 18, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- As thousands of adults join in the sixth Annual Global Rosary for Priests on 12 June this year, the event will receive a special boost as children from around the world add to the sheer wonder of this 24-hour prayerful celebration. These children, who will range in ages from four to fourteen, come from all races and backgrounds and some face the challenges of living a life with special needs.

In welcoming this truly wonderful addition to the volume of prayer resounding around the world on behalf of our priests, many Catholics may recall the three little Portuguese shepherd children who witnessed the apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima in 1917.

The children taking part this year are members of the Children's Rosary, a global prayer group movement that is growing steadily on the five continents of Africa, The Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. The initiative follows an invitation from Worldpriest founder Marion Mulhall to US-based Blythe Kaufman, founder of the Children's Rosary. The children who are members of this group meet regularly to pray the rosary in parishes and schools around the world and in doing so begin a life of prayer and devotion to Our Lady. During the relay children will take turns at leading the prayers, so their participation will be entirely child led.

"Children have a way of drawing people together," says Blythe Kaufman. "For this reason it is very exciting to welcome children from all over the world to participate in the Global Rosary Relay for Priests. We are humbled and excited to be invited and to add our voices to the success of this astonishing and beautiful event. Children are very open to prayer, as we have seen in our prayer groups. They bring with them a natural simplicity and love."

At a general audience in Saint Peter's Square on 18 March last, Pope Francis was speaking about the family and children. In his audience he had the following to say: "Children are in and of themselves a treasure for humanity and also for the Church … children remind us of another beautiful thing: they remind us that we are always sons and daughters."

"In a special way we hope that the involvement of the Children's Rosary in this year's Global Rosary Relay will inspire a great many other children -- both younger and older children -- to unify prayers with shrines across the world for the sanctification of priests," says Blythe Kaufman.

All children worldwide are invited to join in prayer at their chosen time by viewing the full list of participating shrines and times to pray by visiting www.worldpriest.com  

The relay looks forward to having adults and children alike adding their prayers on 12 June, the Feast of the Sacred Heart.