Bangalore, India, Nov 29, 2008 / 06:01 am
Following a campaign in which nearly 500,000 Rosaries were prayed, a prayer initiative held for the victims of anti-Christian persecution in Orissa and elsewhere in India has ended in Bangalore.
Millions across the world reportedly entrusted the victims of violent Hindu extremists to the Blessed Virgin, Fides reports. For forty days and forty nights, Catholics took turns praying the Rosary continuously for peace in India.
The prayer initiative, led by Salesian Father T.C. George, began on the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 6, and ended with a Mass in Bangalore on November 22.
Father George reported to Fides that there were 481,525 Rosaries offered by faithful in 44 nations on all the continents, with the greatest number of participants being in India.
Archbishop emeritus of Bangalore Ignatius Pinto commented on the initiative, saying that many Popes have encouraged devotion to the Rosary. He added, “the Rosary is a powerful instrument in bringing peace to the family and harmony to the country.”