Vatican City, Oct 6, 2010 / 13:54 pm
Anticipating Thursday's celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Holy Father called on the faithful to make an effort to rediscover the prayer. He urged Christians to seek intercession, protection and personal encounter with Christ through the "simple but efficient prayer," especially during the Marian month of October.
Greeting the faithful in 10 different languages during Wednesday's general audience, the Holy Father spoke of the Rosary as "a particular prayer of the Church and a spiritual weapon for each of us."
He prayed that the meditation of Jesus and Mary's life through the Rosary might be, "for all of us, light on the evangelical path of spiritual renewal and conversion of heart."
Speaking in Portuguese, but referring to all people, he invited families to join together with the Virgin Mary so as to cooperate fully with the salvific designs of God. In Croatian, he said to ask for her intercession and protection for each person and family, exhorting prayers also for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.