A worldwide Rosary relay will be held on June 19, starting in Australia and finishing in Los Angeles. Involving 24 shrines dedicated to Our Lady, the Rosary prayer event is being held to mark the closing of the Year for Priests.

The Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians in Brisbane, Australia, will begin the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary with “The Annunciation.”

The prayer will continue at other shrines across the globe to total 24 hours of continuous prayer. The two U.S. locations are the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in L.A., where “The Nativity” and “The Presentation” decades will be prayed respectively.

The Rosary will be offered in thanksgiving to God for priests and to entrust them to the protection of Our Lady. Catholics around the world are invited to join in prayer at their country/time zone’s designated hour.

WorldPriest, which promotes the priesthood, is organizing the prayer relay. In announcing the Rosary relay, the organization stated: “It is an opportunity for us to raise our hearts to God for all priests in the exercise of their ministry; that they will be blessed, through our prayers, with God’s grace for their priesthood; that in this worldwide communion of prayer for them, they may experience our gratitude and support; and finally that they will persevere in unity with Christ and his Church and shepherd the Lord’s flock to the safe pastures of his Kingdom.”

Said Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, Ireland: “I am happy to support and highly recommend the current initiative of the worldwide Rosary relay on June 19th to mark the end of the Year of the Priest. I believe it has great potential and will bring many spiritual benefits to all involved.” 

As John Paul II said, “The Rosary is a way of contemplating the face of Christ, seeing him — we may say — with the eyes of Mary.”

So, have your rosaries ready for this priest-focused prayer-a-thon!