Apostolic Blessing

During the Holy Year 2025, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV granted an Apostolic Blessing to President Kristin Bird and to all who participate in and support the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses. This blessing was received with profound gratitude and a deepened sense of responsibility for the apostolic work entrusted to this organization and to all who have said yes to it.

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The Blessing

"The Holy Father Leo XIV on the occasion of the Holy Year 2025 cordially imparts the requested Apostolic Blessing to the President, Kristin Bird, and all the Members of the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses and invoking a fresh outpouring of heavenly graces he commends them to the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary that by the witness of generous and faithful hearts the Flame of Hope may always shine brightly in our world."

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What Is an Apostolic Blessing?

An Apostolic Blessing is a formal blessing imparted by the Roman Pontiff as the Vicar of Christ and successor of Saint Peter. It is a particular expression of the Church’s pastoral care, often granted in response to a request and extended to individuals, families, or groups on significant occasions. When issued in writing and addressed by name, it reflects a specific act of encouragement and spiritual support from the Holy Father.

The blessing granted to the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses extends not only to Kristin Bird as President, but, in the words of the Holy Father himself, to all the Members of the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses. This includes, in a broader sense, every coordinator who has organized a Congress in their diocese, every participant who has kept a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament, every volunteer, every donor, every person who has prayed for this work. If you have participated in or supported the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses in any way, this blessing was granted for you.

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Why This Matters

Recognition of the ERC's Mission in Full Communion with Rome

The Catholic Church has always understood apostolic works (the organized efforts of the faithful to carry out the Church's evangelical and sanctifying mission) as requiring proper relationship with Church authority. While not a specific endorsement in the sense of governance or control, an Apostolic Blessing granted by name to an apostolate is among the clearest signals Rome can give that a work is recognized as operating in communion with the universal Church, consistent with her teaching, and worthy of encouragement.

For the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses, this recognition is not incidental. The ERC operates primarily in the United States, a country with 196 dioceses, each under the authority of a bishop in communion with Rome. The Apostolic Blessing confirms to bishops, clergy, parish coordinators, and the faithful that this work stands in full alignment with the Church's mission; not as a peripheral devotional movement, but as an apostolate entrusted to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and blessed by the successor of Peter.

The Holy Year Context

The Church celebrates Holy Years (also called Jubilee Years) as extraordinary periods of grace, renewal, and indulgence. Instituted by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300 and observed at regular intervals since, Holy Years invite the faithful to deeper conversion, to the sacraments, and to pilgrimage, whether physical or spiritual. The graces available during a Holy Year are understood by the Church as particularly abundant.

The Holy Year 2025, proclaimed by Pope Francis under the theme Pilgrims of Hope, called the universal Church to renew its trust in Christ and to become witnesses of hope in a world marked by suffering, division, and uncertainty. The Apostolic Blessing granted to the ERC during this year situates our work explicitly within that call. The Holy Father's own words make the connection: "that by the witness of generous and faithful hearts the Flame of Hope may always shine brightly in our world."

The ERC's apostolate work of seven days and nights of Perpetual Adoration and Hourly Rosary, brought to every diocese in the United States, is, at its core, a witness of hope. Every Congress is a community of the faithful declaring, through their presence before the Blessed Sacrament, that Christ is real, that He is present, and that His mercy is available to every soul who approaches Him.

The Horizon of 2033

The Holy Year 2025 looks ahead to 2033, the Jubilee of Redemption, marking the 2,000th anniversary of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is among the most significant anniversaries in the history of Christianity. The Church is already orienting its apostolic work toward that milestone.

The Eucharistic Rosary Congresses shares that orientation. Our mission is to bring the Congress to every diocese in the United States. That is not a modest ambition — there are 196 dioceses. But it is the mission, and it has been blessed. The years between now and 2033 are years of work, prayer, and growth. Every Congress held, every diocese reached, every holy hour kept is a step toward that horizon.

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For Coordinators, Pastors, and Bishops

If you are a pastor or bishop considering whether to invite the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses to your diocese, this blessing may be useful to you. It is not a substitute for your own discernment and authority since the local ordinary remains the proper judge of what apostolic works are appropriate for his diocese. But it is an assurance that the ERC has been examined at the highest level of Church governance and found worthy of the Holy Father's blessing and commendation.

Coordinators who have already made this commitment, those who have organized a Congress, recruited volunteers, and stood watch before the Blessed Sacrament, should know that the Holy Father is aware of this work. You are remembered. You are blessed. The Mother of God has been specifically invoked over your efforts.

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For Supporters and Donors

Every gift to the Eucharistic Rosary Congresses advances work that the Holy Father has blessed. One hundred percent of donations support the mission directly by funding our outreach, coordinator resources, materials, and the organizational infrastructure that makes each Congress possible. If you have given to this work, you are among those named in the blessing.

If you have not yet supported the ERC and are discerning whether to do so, we ask you simply to pray. Ask Our Lady, to whose protection this work has been specifically entrusted, to guide you. The need is real. The mission is clear. The blessing has been given.

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A Word From Our President

"We received this blessing with gratitude and with a deep sense of what it asks of us. The Holy Father's words — that the Flame of Hope may always shine brightly — are not merely an encouragement. They are a commission. We carry them forward into every diocese, every parish, every holy hour. To everyone who has supported this work: this blessing is yours."

— Kristin Bird, President, Eucharistic Rosary Congresses, Inc.