On Sunday, 7 September, Holy Cross Family Ministries teamed up with the Congregation's U.S. Province, the University of Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College, and Holy Cross College to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Venerable Patrick Peyton’s first Rosary Rally on the college campus. The original rally, held in Notre Dame Stadium on 22 October 1950, was one of Fr. Peyton’s first major events, drawing tens of thousands to pray the Rosary.
The 75th Anniversary Rosary Rally was held on the steps of Bond Hall, which is adjacent to Corby Hall, the central residence of the Holy Cross community at the university. It was streamed live around the world on Family Rosary’s YouTube Channel.
As the St. André Singers from Holy Cross College sang, a statue of the Virgin Mary was processed in by local high school football players dressed in their jerseys as young children threw flowers to mark the way.
Watch the 75th Anniversary Rosary Rally
Following the procession, Fr. Pete McCormick, C.S.C., Director of Campus Ministry at Notre Dame, who served as the Master of Ceremony, welcomed everyone to the rally, and Fr. William M. Lies, C.S.C., Superior of the U.S. Province, offered the opening prayer.
Then Mr. Alex Jones, CEO of the popular prayer app Hallow, gave an inspired keynote address, in which he emphasized the power and necessity of prayer, especially the Rosary. "This I have learned," he said, "everything in life tends to come back to the simplest things, the things you’ve heard a thousand times: God is with you, he loves you, go to Mass, pray the Rosary ... that's it."
The recitation of the Rosary was led by a beautiful mosaic of people from the Notre Dame and Holy Cross families, including Holy Cross Sisters, Brothers, and Priests, university students, and families from local parishes. The Glorious Mysteries were prayed, and for each mystery there was a personal reflection. One of the decades was prayed in Spanish.
Near the end of the rally, Fr. Fred Jenga, C.S.C., President of Holy Cross Family Ministries, addressed the crowd. “The mission that Venerable Patrick Peyton founded of promoting family prayer has never been as urgently needed as it is now in our times. ... Family life has become missionary territory; it is in need of evangelization,” he said.
Fr. Fred passionately invited all present to join with HCFM in the mission of being educators and evangelists of the power of prayer, especially the Family Rosary.