(This article has been updated at the end to include information about how people can register to attend the prayer service in person, and also to include the livestream link for those who would like view the prayer service and participate from their homes or other locations.)

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception will host a recitation of the rosary on Monday, May 17, at noon as part of Pope Francis’s call for a worldwide marathon of rosaries for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each day during May at noon Washington D.C. time (6 p.m. at the Vatican) the rosary is prayed from a different Marian shrine around the world. Pope Francis began the rosary marathon May 1 at the Vatican, and will conclude it there on May 31.

Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory will lead the recitation of the rosary at the National Shrine.

“It is an honor for us to participate in this important initiative of the Holy Father as he invites the world to offer this great Marian prayer asking God, through the intercession of Our Lady, to bring an end to the pandemic,” said Msgr. Walter Rossi, rector of the National Shrine.

Last month, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization announced the worldwide rosary marathon during this month traditionally devoted to Mary.

“Dating back to the Middle Ages, the month of May has been dedicated to Our Lady… in each of (her) apparitions, Our Lady called for the rosary to be prayed for conversation of hearts and as an instrument for world peace. Now we offer this prayer in hope that with vaccines being administered, our world will return to a form of normalcy,” Msgr. Rossi said.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is among only 30 shrines from around the globe chosen to lead a day of prayer during the monthlong rosary marathon. 

In addition to the National Shrine, other Marian Shrines that have or will participate in the monthlong global rosary are those located in Ireland, Belgium, Algeria, Portugal, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Australia, France, Turkey, Cuba, Japan, Canada, Malta, Mexico, Ukraine, Germany, Lebanon and Italy.

Each of the participating Marian shrines around the world will pray the rosary for a specific prayer intention. The May 17 rosary at the National Shrine will be prayed for “all world leaders and for all heads of international organizations." 

Other intentions during the month include for an end to the pandemic, for all of humanity, for all who have died, for the sick, for expectant mothers, for pharmacists and other health care workers, for peace, for nurses and doctors and for essential workers.

The overall theme for the worldwide event is “From the entire Church an unceasing prayer rises to God,” and comes from the Acts of the Apostles (12:1-12) account of how all members of the Church prayed for St. Peter’s miraculous escape from prison.

Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, in a letter to Cardinal Gregory noted that this year the month of May is “dedicated in a special way to prayer for an end to the Coronavirus pandemic,” and asked that the cardinal to “promote the initiative and to encourage the participation of the faithful in it.”

This will be the third time that the National Shrine has joined an international effort in praying for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary during this time of worldwide concern over the coronavirus pandemic.

On May 1, 2020 at the National Shrine, then-Archbishop Gregory joined with bishops throughout the United States and Canada in rededicating the two countries to Our Lady. He implored the Blessed Virgin Mary to “bring everyone under your protection and entrust everyone to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

On May 30 last year, while the National Shrine was closed to the public as part of the effort to halt the spread of COVID-19, Msgr. Rossi and the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate prayed the rosary in the Great Upper Church at the same time the pope led the rosary from inside the Vatican Gardens in Rome. That livestream was broadcast around the world along with the prayers from the other Marian shrines.

The May 17 recitation of the rosary will be livestreamed at noon from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and on various Vatican social media platforms. In addition, EWTN will broadcast the prayer.

“With the world living for more than a year in pandemic mode, I trust that everyone would agree that we need some ‘rearranging’,” Msgr. Rossi said. “And so, my hope is that through this monthlong worldwide praying of the rosary, Our Lady will look favorably upon our pleas and present our great need before her Son.”

With the ability to accommodate 1,000 people socially distanced in the Great Upper Church with other safety protocols in place, the event is open to the public and the faithful are encouraged to join this vital prayer effort in person by registering at www.nationalshrine.org/mass-registration.

 Located at 400 Michigan Ave., N.E. in Washington, the National Shrine is convenient to the Metro Red Line’s CUA station and offers ample free parking. 

For those unable to attend in person, the recitation of the Rosary will be livestreamed at www.nationalshrine.org/mass and will be shared with the Holy See for transmission throughout the world.