When St. John Paul II was in Fatima on May 13, 2000, to beatify Jacinta and Francisco, he called them “Two candles lit by God to illumine humanity at times of darkness and anxiety.”

Taking that cue, on Oct. 13, the 103rd anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, the children of America and the world are being called to multiply those two candles millions of times to pray for humanity. The call is to join the 18th annual Worldwide Children’s Eucharistic and Marian Holy Hour to be broadcast live from Our Lady of the Angels Chapel in Irondale, Alabama, 9:00-10:00 am ET.

According to the Children of the Eucharist, Young Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which originated the event 18 years ago, Our Lady of Fatima is sending a call to the children and youth inviting parents, teachers, grandparents and all who have the care of the souls of children to gather God’s precious ones in their homes and schools — and wherever it’s possible, before the Blessed Sacrament.

“Are our children are now living in dark and anxious times,” says Connie Schneider, founder and president of Children of the Eucharist. “Please open your hearts and see how the children of the world ‘console the Eucharistic and Marian Hearts of Jesus and Mary.’”

EWTN’s Father Joseph Wolfe of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word will lead the hour. “One of the features of this annual event (much smaller this year because of COVID concerns) is Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s Mission Rosary,” he explains. In this five-color rosary each color represents one of the continents of the world. “We will have families from all five continents (heritage) as we pray one decade of the Rosary for each of the five continents.  We will pray thus: ‘May the light of Christ dispel the darkness in all hearts and bring peace and healing to our homelands.’”

Children’s and Youth’s Power in Prayer

Over and over it’s been said that the prayers of children and youth are powerful in the sight of God.

Father Wolfe shares how, “on one occasion, when Pope St. John Paul II met with children who sang for him, he said to them that St. Augustine said that to sing is to pray twice. Pope John Paul II added, broadly smiling, that when children sing, they pray three times!

“Children’s prayers are understood to have a special efficacy since they spring from a heart of innocence and faith,” he explains. “Thus, we can understand why so many apparitions of Our Lady were to children, such as at Fatima.  Lucia, who lived into her 90s, wrote, in her memoirs, of prayers of Saint Jacinta that were swiftly answered, for example, a young man being called off to fight in the war whose wife was ill and who had children.  After St. Jacinta’s prayers, he became ill himself and was discharged from having to leave.”

Schneider reminds how Our Lady of Fatima came herself with her items for this spiritual war for the entire world — the Rosary, Entrustment to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and much more. “First, she sent the Angel of Peace as her Tutor of Love, to draw the children into the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus, and to teach them powerful prayers to pray before the Eucharist. She wanted them to learn the ‘Pardon Prayer’ begging pardon for the indifference of so many, and the ‘Prayer of Reparation.’” (The Fatima Prayers)

Again in our day Our Lady of Fatima calls the children of the world to Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary. And seeing the crisis of faith in the world’s future and the ‘flame of faith’ growing dim in the world, the Children of the Eucharist, Young Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s goal is to enroll the children of the world into the school of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — the school of the Little Shepherds of Fatima.

During that beautification in 2000, St. John Paul II also told the children, “Dear boys and girls, I see so many of you dressed like Francisco and Jacinta. You look very nice!... They should not disappear, should they? Our Lady needs you all to console Jesus, who is sad because of the bad things done to him; he needs your prayers and your sacrifices for sinners.

“Ask your parents and teachers to enroll you in the ‘school’ of Our Lady, so that she can teach you to be like the little shepherds, who tried to do whatever she asked them.”

And he added these words of Jesus: “Father, to you I offer praise, for what you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children."

Children and youth — and parents and grandparent and teachers watching and praying along with them too — will find this inspiration in this Global Children’s Eucharistic Rosary on EWTN and pray along using the free program.

This Global Rosary gives our children a mission, says Schneider. “A mission of love from the Hearts of Jesus and Blessed Mother.” Children can know they are connected in this EWTN LIVE event to children all over the country and the world.

She points out that on Aug. 6, 2008, speaking at a cathedral in Italy, Benedict XVI said, “The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus' love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thus reopening the places of faith of our time.”

Schneider adds that the children’s “little souls are crying out for spiritual nourishment and almost no one hears them. Gathering them before Jesus gives Jesus the opportunity to do what only he can do.”

As Father will say during this Global Rosary, “Dear children and young people present here and throughout the world through EWTN, Our Lady of Fatima sent an Angel from Heaven as a 'teacher of love' to teach the three Little Shepherds of Fatima prayers to pray while in the Presence of Jesus, and to ask them to make sacrifices to console the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who is so offended because of the many sins in the world… Boys and Girls, Our Lady of Fatima asks for your help to bring peace to the world.”

Children’s World Rosary Vital

With EWTN’s reach this will truly be a worldwide effort. As St. John Paul II told children in his Christmas Letter to them in 1994, the year of the Family, “Just as Jesus in the Gospel shows special trust in children, so his Mother Mary, in the course of history, has not failed to show her motherly care for the little ones…”

“It is absolutely true,” he said. “Jesus and his Mother often choose children and give them important tasks for the life of the Church and of humanity.”

John Paul II continued, “The Redeemer of humanity seems to share with them his concern for others: for parents, for other boys and girls. He eagerly awaits their prayers. What enormous power the prayer of children has! This becomes a model for grown-ups themselves: praying with simple and complete trust means praying as children pray.”

Then he added another “important part” to his letter, telling them, “dear young friends, it is to your prayers that I want to entrust the problems of your own families and of all the families in the world.

“We must pray together and pray hard, that humanity, made up of billions of human beings, may become more and more the family of God and able to live in peace.” That is why, he decided “to ask you, dear boys and girls, to take upon yourselves the duty of praying for peace.

“The Pope is certain that you will not refuse his request, but that you will join in his prayer for peace in the world with the same enthusiasm with which you pray for peace and harmony in your own families.”

How true his words are for children and youth today — maybe even more so. They can make this Global Children’s Eucharistic Rosary the best yet. The first 12 Children’s Eucharistic Rosaries were held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. and successes carry on in many places such as in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the programs in Boston.

Father Wolfe inspires everyone to join. “At EWTN we believe that one of the reasons God brought this Network about was to unite people of all ages in prayer throughout the world,” he says. “This is a wonderful opportunity for children and young people to be united in prayer with other children and young people throughout the world, live, in adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, and turning to Our Lady for help in this great time of need.  Prayer makes a difference.”