An initiative to hold a public women’s rosary that originated in Colombia has taken off worldwide with interested women connecting through Instagram.

With the purpose of honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Worldwide Women’s Rosary will be held for the first time on Dec. 8.

This initiative aims to publicly unite women in defense of churches (often vandalized by abortion advocates in Latin America), life, motherhood, the family, and to proudly say to the whole world “we are daughters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and we want to follow her example,” the organizers said.

Another aim of this rosary effort is to express the search for peace that only God can give and the firm conviction that every human person is equal in dignity.

The organizers recognize that the vocation to be a woman doesn’t depend on age, education, health, or any particular condition, “but on the conviction that God created each one of us and chose us to entrust us with a special mission.”

“We are called to be representatives of our Blessed Virgin Mary” in every word, event, or place that they can influence, the organizers said.

“We believe in the power of prayer to change the world, and especially in the power of the rosary, which Our Lady has strongly requested for the spiritual battle against evil in the world and in our countries,” they added.

The organizers are calling on women from all over the planet to join this effort to pray the rosary in public. “Mother, here are your daughters,” they said.

Women from more than 25 countries have already confirmed their participation, including women from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uganda, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

“It was the Virgin who wanted this initiative to spread worldwide,” said Juliana Illario, coordinator of the effort in Argentina.

“I immediately felt part of it,” she related in a conversation with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language sister news agency, “Our Virgin is the initiator and world organizer.”

“It’s all happening: women from different corners of Argentina contact me and they join in.”

“We trust that this is all the work of the Mother, and her daughters listen to her,” Illario said.

The Argentine coordinator noted that those promoting the worldwide rosary are women with different charisms, who have Mary as a model of women and Mother.

Finally, she hoped “that day would be filled with women praying together” because “no one guided by Mary makes a misstep.”

Fanny Tagle Arrizaga, another of the organizers from Chile, admitted that the initiative surprised them from the beginning, “because we realize how it’s growing every day. And the most incredible thing is the unity that is created with the different charisms and countries.”

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“Our Mother’s love is making us realize that there are no differences between her daughters,” she said.

“We’re happy because we lay people are responsible for cooperating with the truth of Our Lord, and we have to comply with the utmost diligence with everything that Our Mother asks of us, especially praying the holy rosary that gives us so many graces,” she added.

For more information visit the rosary effort’s Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/rosario_mundial_de_mujeres/

This story was written by Julieta Villar and first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.