CV NEWS FEED // More than 12,000 rosaries are being prayed this week in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament as parishioners across the United States participate in Eucharistic Rosary Congresses (ERC).  

Kristin Bird, president of the ERC, shared the numbers with CatholicVote in an email interview. A total of 370 parishes across 33 archdioceses and dioceses across the nation are participating in the Congresses, which begin on October 5 and end on October 11. 

This number of participants is an increase from 2023, when 250 parishes participated, according to a previous CatholicVote report. 

The congress originated in Poland in 1978 when the Communist government would not allow St. Pope John Paul II into the country. After a private revelation from the Blessed Virgin Mary, Polish Catholics held seven continuous days of Eucharistic Adoration and praying the Rosary. On the seventh day, the Communist government unexpectedly removed the obstacles preventing the Pope from visiting. 

“The pope’s subsequent visit to Poland is credited with the beginning of the fall of communism in that part of the world,” according to CatholicVote. One of the Polish organizers brought the ERC to the US in 1988.

At parishes that have organized an ERC, participants take turns attending a Holy Hour and praying the Rosary every hour, so that the prayers are ongoing for seven straight days. Some parishes are participating with partial Congresses, and others are holding full-length Congresses. It is not too late for interested parishioners to join in support of this year’s ERC and its intentions this year. 

Using the ERC Locations webpage, interested persons can find out if an ERC is officially taking place near them. Even if one’s parish is not hosting an ERC formally or if he or she is unable to attend at an official time slot, Bird explained that parishioners can attend a Holy Hour in union with the other Congresses and pray the Rosary at the top of the hour. The ERC Resources webpage offers English and Spanish translations of intentions for every mystery of the Rosary. 

Bird explained that the theme for this year’s ERC is, “Do whatever He tells you,” (Jn 2:3-10) the words the Blessed Virgin Mary uses to tell the servers at a wedding feast when they have run out of wine. She instructs them to listen to Jesus, Who tells them to fill the jars with water. After they do this, Jesus turns this water into wine. 

The ERC has regular intentions, and this year the ERC is also calling for an urgent prayer request for all those who will be in the path of Hurricane Milton. The other intentions for the ERC this year are for life, peace, and reparation. 

Bird explained that praying a Rosary in reparation for a sin committed by oneself or others “is a beautiful opportunity that we are given to share in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 

“Meditating on the mysteries of the life of Jesus, we place ourselves in those scenes recognizing Who Jesus is and what He has done for each of us,” Bird wrote. 

She explained that there is a humility and sorrow for sin that comes in these instances, when one is struck by the love that God has demonstrated for all. 

“We ask God to allow us, in our ‘littleness,’ to join Jesus in His sufferings, that we, too, can make amends (or make reparation) for not only our sins, but for the sins of others as well,” she added. 

Bird also shared two anecdotes on the power of praying the rosary before the Blessed Sacrament, and the peace, healing, and unity such prayers can bring. 

In 2017 during the ERC, six parishes and the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Archdiocese of Baltimore were participating. During the week that the ERC was taking place, many noticed that violent crime in the city decreased. 

According to Bird, the “rector of the Basilica at that time noted: For most days of the week, there was not a single murder in the City of Baltimore.”

“This was so ‘miraculous’ that the Baltimore Sun (the main secular newspaper of Baltimore) took note and came to the Basilica to see what was happening,” Bird recalled.

Praying the rosary before the Blessed Sacrament also brings about spiritual peace and healing, especially through the Sacrament of Confession. 

Bird also noted that after the ERCs, the leaders “are often told about the many faithful who return to Confession after having been away for 10 to 20 [years or longer]. As we know, this Sacrament brings healing, peace, and unity.”

Reprinted by the kind permission of Catholic Vote

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